


Forever Times the Stars

by Fiobri



Category: Doctor Who, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And Becomes A Companion, Fem!Harry, Girl-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), Harriet Is Summoned Instead, Harry Meets Doctor, Harry Meets Ninth, Immortal!Harry, Mistress of Death - Freeform, MoD!Harry, Ninth Doctor - Freeform, Parallel Universe, Reality Crossing, Sky Arcobaleno!Harry, Sky!Harry, Summoned!Harry, Summoning Death, To Kill The Doctor, doesn't work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2019-11-14 10:45:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18051041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiobri/pseuds/Fiobri
Summary: Harriet 'Harry' Potter was many things. A witch, a savior, the Arcobaleno Sky, an advisor to the Vongola Tenth, the girl who forged her own family out of cursed babies, an immortal because the Hallows apparently did that, and thus she was the Mistress of Death. She was also a sixty-two-year-old woman who mourned her chosen family. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she was a Potter too. Which meant she had this thing called Potter Luck. And so a little after she lost her family, her Elements, she finds out that as Mistress of Death she can apparently get summoned. Though she has a sneaking suspicion it was Death's fault...But seriously! Why would anyone ever summon Death? And now because someone apparently DID she is stuck in another world in another time with a strange man who owns a blue police box.





	1. Meeting of the Two Evers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm just posting this thing I wrote today on a whim. I don't know if I ever continue and I don't know if it'll even be that interesting to anyone. Basically, Harry (or Harriet) gets thrown into the Doctor Who verse. 
> 
> Hopefully someone enjoys!

 

Harriet Lily Potter, Witch, Girl-Who-Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World, Woman-Who-Conquered, Martyr, Lady Potter, Peverell, Black, and Slytherin-by-conquest, Chosen One, owner of a First Class Order of Merlin, Undesirable Number One, Sky Arcobaleno, Vongola Advisor, Angel of Justice, Striking Wonder, Mistress of Death, Immortal, Cursed Girl (May-You-Live-In-Interesting-Times), and just Harry sat at the graves of her chosen family with their bonds still attached to her soul. They were dead but still not gone to the Mistress of Death whose purpose was to help whomever didn’t naturally cross over. They would eventually return to the cycle of life when they were ready but she wouldn’t.

She couldn’t.

Well. Not _yet_ anyway. Not until what might count as many, many, many, _maaaaaaaany_ years from now when she was ‘Ready to Leave’ whatever that meant. She was kind of angry at Death for saying it. The sixty-two-year-old-but-age-locked-at-seventeen really wanted to get there _now_ because everything she had worked for here had already been accomplished. Because Tsuna had everything running and still relentlessly worked on un-bloodying the mafia as well as turning it towards being more vigilante. Because he didn’t _need_ her advice anymore and neither did his Elements (she didn’t like to call them Guardians thank-you-very-much). They could do their own decisions.

Because _her_ Elements weren’t in this plane of existence anymore! Reborn, Fon, Colonello, Lal, Skull, Verde and Viper were _gone_ and the pain was unbearable at times. To feel them near, feel the echoes that came through what one might call Afterlife because she was the Mistress of Death and she _felt_ those things. She felt the Veil and felt them through it and how they would wait and watch over her as long as she was stuck here but she _couldn’t see them_. Couldn’t talk to them.

Only ‘Special Circumstances’ would allow her to do more than feel them. And those circumstances were her dying and coming back to life again. Even when she fought she only had a bit of their Flames to help her and couldn’t talk to them but with emotions.

She supposed she should feel lucky that she even had _this_ much since many of her friends had died in the War. And some had died in the Mafia. And others of old age. Her eyes stung with tears. It still felt wrong to not have her family here and _close_ . To not puppy-pile with them or spar or- or… _something_.

Seven bonds flared in comfort. The two Rains soothed her as Sun bond nudged her to move already. She could almost hear Reborn’s snarky comment about her being too moody again. Harry’s lips quirked upwards. While she’d come here everyday since they all died to save the Vongola (again) she still knew they all were watching. Maybe it was time she moved on. And yet she knew she’d be here again tomorrow.

Slowly she rose and gave one last glance at the graves in the shape of a half circle before turning and looking straight up at the moon. It was Halloween. Her thick mane of raven black hair fluttered slightly in the wind and she took in a deep breath. Halloween. She didn’t like Halloween. Usually everything went haywire. Sometimes it didn’t and she’d just be on edge for no reason.

Wind picked up. Harriet felt a shiver run through her. This was definitely not one of those easy Halloweens. _Definitely_ not.

Just as she thought that she felt something rip at her and the Elder Wand leapt to her hand, combat ready. Only it wasn’t a physical touch. Nor someone _here_. It was far away. Like invisible hands trying to grab her. Suddenly she knew that if she let them get her she wouldn’t come back.

Fear coursed through her veins as she cast an overpowered shield to protect herself. The one infused with Sky Flames to stop even a Flame Portkey. Because the hands wanted her somewhere. Clearly wanted her somewhere.

Potter Luck struck again.

They got through.

Not because her shield was faulty or not strong enough. They were simply _locked_ on her as the target because of _something_ in her status. Not that she knew that yet. They grabbed her and she knew in that moment she wouldn’t be able to get free. In a desperate attempt to at least leave a message to those she knew would miss her she summoned her patronus and let the stag gallop away.

Then she was engulfed in the windy wispy hands and her presence ceased to be.

 

xXXx

 

She was floating. Rushing past a place devoid of anything. Her mind felt scattered and she felt like death but that wasn’t quite right because she _wasn’t_ dead this time. At least that she knew and she _should_ know. Right at this point she was kind of disappointed she wasn’t.

Then the vertigo of motion-but-not-motion stopped and she was left standing in a circle of fire and strange runes she’d _never_ seen before, as well as a race of people that were clearly not human. Or goblin. Or any other magical race she had ever even _heard_ of. Disoriented and confused she narrowed her eyes as she found her footing. Her wand was still tightly gripped in her hand.

Her eyes flickered down to the circle to figure out what happened. She heard chanting and gasps of awe before everyone bowed to a lone red figure at the edge of the circle. It was a hall lit with fire at the sides. Kind of reminded her of the Great Hall but bigger and full of the strange species. All of the creatures were dark red and looked… kind of like satyrs but with lizard skin and strange brown, blue, or purple clothes. She narrowed her eyes at the circle and probed it with magic and Flames.

Emerald green eyes widened. _Summoning_ circle. They _summoned_ her. From… She swallowed.

From another reality.

This was another reality entirely.

Her chest tightened.

Another reality. She scrambled for the bonds and almost collapsed in relief as they flared, reassuring that they wouldn’t let something as silly as a summons from another reality to part them from her. Taking a deep breath she rose to her full height (which annoyingly wasn’t much, just 5,3 feet or 160 cm) and glared. She was kind of annoyed. Scratch that, a _lot_ annoyed.

“ _Why_ did you summon me?”, she growled in a low Flame infused voice. Disharmony echoed through the walls.

It didn’t really occur to her that they might not understand. She _did_ understand that the lone red figure in front of her was talking to her and… gloating? She looked at him before following his gaze and found a _human_ held back by the red satyrs as he glared with stormy eyes. Then his gaze fell on her and she saw the spark of interest and rushing genius mind she’d only seen in Verde before.

He answered her.

“The legrach in front of you tried to summon death itself”, he said with power in his voice and was surprisingly talking in English, “He wanted to bind it to his control and kill me”

She felt her eyebrow rise and looked at the shorter creature that was shouting something at her and pointing a finger at the man, as if ordering her to do so. Seems like she now knew who the bad guys were. Her annoyance doubled as she sighed, not feeling _any_ control on her and knowing perfectly well that Death can’t be controlled. Well, except by Death itself.

She sighed and glared at the… legrach. Harry wondered if it was a name or the name of his species. Her eyes lazily swung back to the black haired man with a Northern accent. She was curious and he was looking back with interest too. The raven haired girl sent him a crooked smirk, wondering what he was thinking of her simple jeans and t-shirt plus backpack. Oh, and the black rimmed large eyeglasses. Made her eyes look big and owl like.

“Please tell this… _legrach_ that he summoned the wrong being”, her voice echoed in the hushed hall that was only interrupted by the crackling of fire, “as I am the _Mistress_ of Death”

His eyebrows rose at the proclamation but she assumed he did it anyway as he told exactly that to the species. She frowned as she could still understand him… but could also tell he wasn’t talking _English_ anymore. Strange. And intriguing. Oh, well. She needed to see if she could get back but if she couldn’t this was the first mystery she wanted to get her hands on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the legrach screeching at her to do something again. She pouted and pointed her wand at him.

“ _Colovaria_ ”, she muttered. The spell hit and changed his color to bright pink.

Absolute silence. The human with short dark hair and light blue eyes burst out into an incredulous but delighted laugh just as the entire species shouted in shock. Some followed the man’s example and laughed. Harry’s annoyance disappeared a little and she grinned.

“Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all week. Or not”, she curtseyed.

Then she frowned at the two guard looking people holding the human in place and cast two Jelly-Fingers curses at them. They screeched in surprise as their fingers went slack and the human blinked before wrenching free and taking some steps towards the summoning circle. His eyes regarded her wand with open interest.

“Who are you? What are you? Why do you look like a human? What is that stick of yours? An improved sonic pen? What do you _mean_ by ‘Mistress of Death’”, he shot her rapid-fire questions as his hands dug in his leather jacket pockets.

Harry laughed, “One question at a time, please. I’m Harry. And you are?”

He grinned as he took out a blue tool. It looked about the size of her wand. Perhaps it was that sonic pen he’d talked about?

“I’m the Doctor!”, and he pressed something and the flames around the circle disappeared.

She raised an eyebrow, “The Doctor? Doctor who?”

“Just the Doctor”, the man replied as he kneeled to read some of the runes, “Harry who?”

Harry let out a delighted laugh. ‘Just Harry’ was how she often introduced herself. Because in her own mind she _was_ just Harry or Harriet. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Potter. Harriet Potter. But just call me Harry”

“Pleasure”, he replied distractedly.

Her eyes gazed over the legrach that were now muttering with each other and the army of them that was forcing their way through. She cast a _Protego Totalum_ to keep them out, eyes narrowed.

“Doctor?”, she asked but wasn’t that hopeful, “Can you send me back?”

The man looked up at her with serious eyes, ones that searched for something and apparently found it. His eyes shifted to sympathy. Harry’s already low hopes plummeted and she sighed.

“Thought not…”

She tested her magic and Flames on it and concluded she wouldn’t be able to do that either. The connection had been lost the millisecond she was summoned. Her eyes moved to the army and then back to the Doctor. She contemplated for a second before mentally shrugging and sending him a small smile.

“May I follow you around then? You seem to know what’s going on”

He froze momentarily as he processed that before looking her over properly. Like she had done moments before. There was a war in his eyes as he contemplated. Something seemed to… flare within him. A recent pain she knew all too well from years ago and from now. The pain of loss. Their eyes met and found understanding in each other’s gazes. He swallowed before a lopsided grin slipped on his face. It was almost not-fake.

Harry knew a lot about fake smiles.

“Okay!”, he focused back on the circle and destroying it with his blue stick, “Just don’t use that blickery bongery without permission”

Her smile widened a fraction as she false sniffed.

“It’s magic you dolt!”, she admonished, “But fine… No blickery bongery. Or flimmy flammy. Though I’ll do both if we’re in danger”

The Doctor huffed and eyed her mock warily, though some of it was real.

“You have more than one power?”, he asked in slight annoyance and amusement.

She grinned cheekily, “I’m a witch. Of course I have more than one power”

He grinned back before looking back to the legrach people who were banging on her dome shield with no progress so far. As promised she looked to the Doctor, who was clearly the expert here, for permission to do magic. He frowned for a minute before shaking his head.

“No need for blickery bongery now. Let’s just get out of here”

Harry looked to him incredulously, “You want us to get through that army _without_ the help of magic?”

He just grinned in that carefree way as he confirmed her guess.

“Yep!”, he turned to the army and aimed his blue stick at a curve in the circle, “Lower the shield and get ready to run”

Bemused she glanced around the hall before letting it fall and then rushing after the Doctor who took off after shooting _something_ from that stick of his to a rune. Incredibly, something strong flared behind them and the army parted, covering their eyes and flattening their ears. They started sneezing. She let a laugh bubble up from her throat. In all her years she hadn’t seen something like this.

Then again, another reality and new tricks. Her heart twinged. Potter Luck never seemed to let her just _be_. But after sixty two years she was kind of used to it.

He led them to the other end of the hall and slipped into a very sci-fi looking corridor that had dark brown and earthly colors all over. Pipes ran through walls and some chain looking things held them in place. Her eyes roved over this and thought Verde would very much like to explore it all. His bond flared in agreement and Harry was _so glad_ it was still there.

“Just a bit more…”, the Doctor muttered ahead of her as he tore around a corner, her on his heels.

An explosion sounded from the front and Harry instinctively cast a wandless _Protego_. The shield shimmered in front of them as some debris hit it and fell down. Orange red light from the sun (a sun?) filtered through a smashed wall.

The Doctor shot her a Look. She shrugged, unrepentant.

“It’s reflex”

He seemed to deflate a little before turning to see _what_ had smashed through. Some banging noises of the army sounded behind them. Something metallic moved in the orange lighted dust cloud. Harry shifted to a relaxed-at-a-glance stance, growing a bit worried. That thing looked huge. Not _dragon_ huge but huge still.

She hoped it wasn’t magic resistant. Though electricity _did_ tend to get fried with too much magic exposure. Did it even run on electricity? The dust cleared a bit to reveal a gigantic gun thingy with three legs.

“Uh oh”, said the Doctor.

Harry agreed as she let the shield drop, grabbing him and diving to the side just as it fired a blue laser thingy. It burned through the floor.

“What’s that?”, she asked as they stood up and watched it turn towards them once more. Rather slowly, she might add.

He fiddled with that blue thing of his, “A3-01 type of Grey Warrior. Should get stopped- “, he aimed and sparks exploded out of it, “-like this”

The metal legs screeched as it bent under its weight. They watched it twitch and fall to the ground in a metallic heap. Harriet whistled.

“Nice one”, though she still wondered why it smashed through the _wall_.

Curiously she looked through it and gasped. It was a red sanded view of a desert city. Rocks poked out of the sand and it continued for quite some time before the city. Orange sky and orange sun, yellow and white buildings lighting up in fiery colors as it set. In a word, it was _beautiful_. The Doctor watched her expression of awe with a grin before glancing back where they’d come from, frowning as a screeching army of legrach finally rounded the corner.

“Right. Off we go!”, and he grabbed her hand and _jumped through the hole_.

Harry let out a surprised squeak as they fell and landed on a strange and large panel that started sliding down the round wall of the building. If she had to guess the building looked like a dome with another dome on top. There were more Gray Warriors climbing up and trying to aim at them. Adrenaline rushed through her and a laugh bubbled up from her throat for the second time that day.

Way more than in the last month. She hadn’t laughed once since her family died.

“Hold on!”, the Doctor told her as she clung to his arm. The ground was coming closer every passing second, “Aaand _jump!_ ”

They leapt from the panel that crashed to the sand and they landed into crouches that turned into somersaults to soften the impact. Though the sand did a lot on that front already. Harry’s exhilarated smile turned back to the strange man she had just met and had made her laugh _thrice_. He was grinning back.

“That was fun”, he commented and Harriet couldn’t help but agree.

Still though. She looked up to see more guns aimed at them. As well as the legrach in the hole they had created. She definitely couldn’t cast a shield strong enough to withstand all that if the strength of those lasers were any indication. Flames might have been able to burn them but she _definitely_ wasn’t going to risk it.

“Yeah. But a bit less funning and more running, ‘kay?”

He looked up too and they ran just as the rain of super lasers started. Darting around rocks and following the doctor Harry felt more alive than ever before in that month. It was just a bit like going on missions with her Elements and she felt them all agree with her. Fun. Exciting. Important and life saving.

She wanted that again.

“Where are we going?”, she yelled over the gunfire that annoyingly blasted the sand into the air around them.

He glanced at her for a millisecond before replying,  “Back to the TARDIS”

“Tar- what now?”

“TARDIS!”

“And that is?”, she asked.

“My ship”

Another explosion sounded and they were forced to hide behind another rock. The city was just a bit further away. Harry was having a hard time keeping the sand from getting to her lungs and eyes. She wanted to blast them away, or vanish them, but it would just get replaced in a second. Plus the promise.

She regretted making it now. Though gunfire sounded like enough danger for her to do something. She thought on it as they ran behind another white rock on the otherwise red sanded planet.

“How far is it?”, her voice was slightly breathless as she blinked to clear the sand. She was glad she’d charmed the glasses unbreakable. These could do some scratches. She’d already felt the flying sand nicking at her bare arms.

“Just before the city”, he told her as they ran behind another rock. It offered more protection than the ones before, shaped like a flat sideways disk.

“‘Kay”, she breathed, “Can I do magic?”

He eyed her wand warily, “To do what?”

“Bubble-head Charm. To block the sand”

The Doctor took only a second to give an okay. Harry didn’t take even that to say the incantation.

“ _Bublet_ ”, she sighed in relief and breathed clean air deeply, “Much better”

She then turned to the other man and raised her wand in question. He hesitated again before nodding and Harry did it for him too. The man’s eyes seemed full of questions as he poked at it with his finger.

“Fascinating…”, he muttered before his talk went to some jargon Harry had no hope of understanding. Really. Just like Verde. He could even do it while running from laser gunfire!

The green bond pulsed again, showing interest in the stranger with a leather jacket. Harry felt comforted by the familiar presence. She herself was intrigued too. The Doctor seemed like a nice enough guy. Though he had darkness in him. One she was intimately familiar with.

Guilt. Survivor’s guilt and pain of great loss.

Her mind wandered to the brilliant friends she had lost to the war. Hermione. Ron. Fred and George. Luna. Just as always, a heavy cloud settled on her shoulders as her throat tightened. It still hurt. It hurt oh so much but… They were like scars now. Not the gaping wounds they were when she’d first met her Arcobaleno at nineteen.

Not the gaping wound she got a month ago.

All those so very precious to her seemed to be leaving, even though her family was still there somewhat. She knew, in time, she would make peace with it but right now she just… wanted her family like it had been before. Not this… faint echo.

She didn’t want this world that had been thrust on her. She hadn’t wanted to get summoned to another reality, even if there wasn’t anything to _do_ there. She hadn’t _wanted_ it! But… maybe this was just Death’s way of saying that she had to _move on_.

Harry took a deep breath and concentrated back on running for cover, keeping the Doctor in her sight and ignori g the first real gash she got on her arm. Everything else was just pinpricks really.

They were already halfway to the city.

The ground shook and they stumbled. A giant something smashed out of the ground. It was long and didn’t have any arms or legs and it was… wait a second.

“Not now!”, the Doctor shouted in frustration as he grabbed her hand and they dodged to another boulder.

The worm’s, _snake’s_ , giant head lowered with a screech and an open mouth, as if to eat them and the Doctor was ready to do something drastic with his blue stick but Harry had a better plan.

“ **_Sstop!_ ** ”, she hissed and the snake stopped in its tracks, big face inches away and other half still buried in the sand, “ **_We mean no harm!_ **”

Harry could see the Doctor gaping at her and the sand snake in turn but ignored it.

“ **_Then why isss our home sshot at_ **”, it hissed menacingly but still willing to listen.

“ **_We’re the oness they’re aming for_ ** ”, she told it- _him_ \- and smiled, “ **_Can you help us to the edge of the city?_ **”

He seemed to consider it, curious about the strange being that could talk snake but wasn’t a snake. He was completely ignorant of the lasers hitting it’s dark yellow scales. They were just about as irritating to him as a mosquito bite was to a human. These attackers were attacking this curious little creature and he wouldn’t stand for that. Neither would his family.

“ **_We will help, hatchling. You and your friend can ride on my back_ **”

“Harry, what are you doing?”, the Doctor asked warily.  

Harriet grinned, though resented the ‘hatchling’ comment, “ **_Thank you. I’m Harry and he’s the Doctor_ **”

He lowered his head right to them, “ **_I am called Sshmrich_ ** . **_Hop on_ **”

“Harriet Potter!”, the Doctor snapped.

She turned to him with that same grin plastered on her face, “I got us a ride!”

He blinked once. Twice. An answering grin bloomed on his lips.

“Oh, you are _brilliant!_ Come on”, he praised before turning to the sand snake and climbling to sit right behind its head.

Harry followed and then Shmrich was slithering with a much faster pace than they had a second before. Lasers had gotten sparse from the farthest Gray Warriors but some had started following and they were still being shot at. Harry looked behind with narrowed eyes and tried to see where they were.

She was both shocked and not as she saw other sand snakes shooting from the ground and ripping them apart. The Doctor whooped as they slithered down a dune with a fast pace. Snakes were fast, giant snakes were faster. Harry looked forward again and saw they were almost at the breathtaking city.

“Harry!”, the Doctor called over the wind, pointing at one particularly small building, “Tell him to take us there!”

The woman-slash-eternal-girl did so and the snake switched direction easily as breathing. It only took twenty more seconds to reach their destination and the snake stopped with a splash of red sand, the two people on his back whooping and laughing as they slid down. Harriet looked up at him happily.

She didn’t remember if she’d been happy at all this month.  

“ ** _Thank you, Ssmrich. May you and your family stay ssafe_ **”

Smrich inclined his head, “ ** _Well met, Harry. May you and your friend find happinesss in the sstars_ **”

She froze, shocked, before warmth spread through her as she watched their brief acquaintance dive back into the sand. It sent a cloud of red up in the air and she watched it sparkle in the place’s orange light. Beautiful. Awe-inspiring. It was a long time since she’d seen something as new and amazing as this.

For the first time she wondered if the summoning really was that bad a thing.

Then she remembered that apart from the Doctor, whom she had met about half an hour ago, she didn’t know _anyone_ from this new world she’d gotten dropped in. Scratch that, she didn’t know anything about the world itself! It was like the Wizarding World and the Mafia all over again. Seven bonds sent reassurance and she clung to it like a lost child.

The Doctor activated his blue stick and its hum penetrated the silent air. She shivered from cold. It wasn’t even that chilly, but she still felt it now that the adrenaline started to fade. Turning around she found herself gaping at a blue police box right next to the small white building. That… shouldn’t be here.

It should be on Earth. Her home. In a museum at that.

Her eyes snapped to the Doctor whom was still waving the blue thingy around. Straight at _her_ actually. She raised her eyebrows in bemusement before dropping the Bubble-head Charms, deeming it safe to do so. The Doctor jumped a little in surprise and gave her an annoyed glare.

“Don’t do that! Whatever your so called magic does it scrambles the sensors”, he grumbled, “I’m trying to figure out what it’ll do to my TARDIS”

Harry smiled sheepishly, “Sorry. I didn’t think. Magic sends off some electricity disturbing magnetic waves, and also alters magnetic fields somewhat”, he looked up in surprise, “That’s why Verde had to do some special adjustments to my phone so it doesn’t get fried when I perform bigger feats of magic”

He snapped his fingers, “Of course! Magnetic fields! That means gravity, space and structures too. But there’s something more to it…”, and he started fiddling with the whirring blue stick again.

Harry watched in bemusement as his face lit up as if he just found the revelation of a lifetime.

“Oh. Oh! So _that’s_ what it was. Fascinating! This was supposed to be gone from the universe. Similar to Carrionites, which are just a myth, but not really because _this_ has a much bigger scale of meteoric gamma practicalities and mathematical construction fields…”, he trailed off when he saw Harry’s deadpan expression. He sighed through his nose and gave a much simpler explanation, “Basically your magic is very versatile and the TARDIS will be unaffected. C’mon in!”

The witch looked on as the man turned around to open the blue (what’s with him and blue things?) police box that was supposed to be his ship. She smiled in amusement before following him through the door. Only to find a _massive_ amount of energy inside powering it. It felt like Hogwarts’ Room of Requirement and lay lines but still _more_. It was like water and air. Unstoppable force and gentle touches with room to move in, slipping into everything everywhere.

Her green eyes were wide behind her glasses as she didn’t so much look around the kind of Extension Charmed room as she _felt_ . It was like she was gazing into the Veil of Death and the birth of life itself, like a soul, like _Flames_ that are all the types weaved together. Flames of Sky, Earth and Water together with the Flames of Night. Like a portkey or Lambo’s Ten Year Bazooka. Like, like…

Like a Time Turner. But much, _much_ more.

The Doctor was watching her reaction with amusement and pride. Harry’s eyes snapped to him, still wide and awed.

“You- The TARDIS is a time machine? A _time machine!?_ And it’s-”, she stopped as she felt something probe her mental barriers. Harry poked at the gentle intruder curiously and it- _she_ \- poked back with a friendly vibe. The sixty-two-year-old was flabbergasted and fascinated and awed at once, “...The TARDIS is telepathic. She’s… _alive!_ ”

Now it was the Doctor’s turn to be astonished.

“Truly, never once has anyone _ever_ had _that_ kind of a reaction when first stepping into my ship”, he murmured as he watched the strange witch girl with interest that had sparked the moment she was summoned instead of a deadly being bent on killing him.

A delighted laugh escaped her throat as she looked around with wide, amazed eyes that told stories of a life with hardship and brilliance in equal amounts. They told of a thirst for adventure. For exploring the unknown. Something they apparently shared. Well. She was interesting. And seemed to have her heart in the right place. Also had a superpower that she used expertly and from what he’d seen, used it for _good_ things.

And she was a mystery. Who was he to refuse mysteries? Mysteries were fantastic!

He grinned brightly, “Welcome to the TARDIS. That’s an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension In Space”, he spun around the controls, flipping switches and pushing buttons as he went, “So, Harriet Potter, we have all of time and space to explore. Where do you want to go first?”

Emerald green locked with stormy blue. A smile on rosy red lips that was full of wonderment and excited anticipation.

It was the start of a new chapter for both the Last Time Lord and the Girl-Who-Lives.

xXXx

 


	2. Impossible Is So Meant To Be Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Harry goes on her first trip in the TARDIS... And there's an auction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I'm surprised. I did another chapter. I really don't think I'll ever finish this story but hopefully someone finds enjoyment in it even after knowing that. Seriously, I don't even have a plan for this! Just coming up with new ideas as I go along.

 

The Doctor was pouting. 

 

Harry was amused. 

 

“I offer you all of time and space and you say home?”, he grumbled as he piloted the TARDIS into the Time Vortex. 

 

The witch had quickly started patching up her injuries after she got over her shock. Which was pretty soon after she’d gotten used to being surprised at every turn. Life tended to do that if you found out you’re a witch at age eleven only to be told you’re a celebrity and have to act like a leader because your parents died. Yeah, she might have been slightly bitter once she understood. 

 

She looked to the Doctor, still amused, “Told ya. I was just summoned from a different reality. Wouldn’t  _ you _ wanna know what’s changed?” 

 

In his head the Doctor admitted the point but outwardly looked sour. And maybe just a bit curious about the ‘witch’ he’d picked up. She had the strangest ideas of what was normal. Like getting ripped from her own reality. He was still kind of struggling to not feel anything about that because dimensional travel between  _ parallel universes _ was  _ impossible! _

 

At least it was impossible after… He refused to go down that line of thought. 

 

Well, apparently it wasn’t impossible because evidence but still. It happened. But it was impossible. 

 

“You seem to think this is normal”, he commented, curiosity taking the better of him. 

 

The girl froze. She grimaced and sighed, flopping against a reiling, “Blame Potter Luck” 

 

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. Intriguing. And strange. Way too strange. But it was a good kind of strange. Something new and… otherworldly. Literally. He felt a bit giddy at the thought of figuring this new girl out. When he had scanned her earlier… It came out as human. A human with somewhat different genetics to all other humans ever. And she was like a power source. 

 

A strong power source. That she could use as she liked. 

 

Yeah, okay, maybe he had also taken her so he could keep an eye on things. 

 

Harry gave him a shaky smile, “You better get used to the extremely odd knocking on your door” 

 

He paused in his work for a second. Well  _ technically _ he didn’t have to work and it  _ would _ have been a lot faster except he wanted to hear more so he was kinda sorta slowing things down. He gave her a bright and hopefully reassuring smile, though there was a bit of a haunted quality to it as every mistake and people he couldn’t save, people he  _ destroyed _ , dancing behind his eyes. 

 

“Oh, I’m already used to it!” 

 

She looked at him once again. Her eyes seemed to dig deep inside and bare his innermost thoughts so he looked away. Silence fell between them. 

 

“...Figures that we’d both be trouble magnets”, Harriet mused. 

 

He chuckled mirthlessly. That might be true. That very well might be true. 

 

Enough moping! He flipped a switch to bring TARDIS out of the Vortex and Harry yelped and yelled to warn her before doing that. He just grinned. It was just as it should be. Him, the TARDIS, and a companion to see the wonders of the universe with. 

 

xXXx

 

Leadenhall Market, London, England, Earth. Year 1985. There was no Leaky Cauldron. Just a pub in its place and no entrance to Diagon Alley. She should be five by now. But apparently a Harriet Potter never existed here. Nor did a Wizarding World. Nothing. Nada. Zero magic. She was the only thing in maybe anything in the universe that had magic at all. 

 

She had expected it. 

 

But expecting and knowing were two different things. 

 

She felt a tear slip down her cheek and leaned into her weakened bonds that offered comfort. This new reality of hers. She was alone in the universe. The last witch on Earth. Private Drive didn’t exist. There were no Flames either. She wanted to know if the Mafia was still there. 

 

“Doctor?”, she hated how her voice broke slightly, “Could you take me to Italy?” 

 

The man had been respectfully silent as he watched her lean into a brick wall with sorrow in her eyes. Now he watched as it escaped with a single tear. This put things in a new perspective for him. She was from a parallel Earth. One where, presumably, she had friends with same kind of abilities as herself. And now she found out there was no one here. None of her kind. 

 

Like him. Alone in the universe. 

 

He couldn’t have said no if he tried. 

 

xXXx

 

“Wait.  _ What _ are you looking for?”, he asked and his voice was full of disbelief because he  _ had _ to have heard wrong. 

 

They were now in Italy, year 2003. And Harry had taken off with sure steps. She seemed to be very determined to find out if her family (he was going to pretend it was that because he  _ had _ to have heard wrong) had alternates. 

 

“The Mafia”, she replied again and didn’t slow down her steps, “Specifically, Vongola Famiglia” 

 

He rushed after her and tried to understand because  _ what _ . Mafia. She wanted to see the mafia and usually he was okay with that but now he wanted to know what  _ she _ was doing in the mafia of her world. Vongola was a name he had never heard before. 

 

“What were you doing with the mafia?”, he blurted out, curiosity getting the better of him. Again. 

 

Her green eyes sparked with mischief as she gave him a too sweet smile, “I was the Tenth’s advisor” 

 

He eyed that smile and sparkle suspiciously. He had to be missing something here. She seemed to notice as she still held her smile in place but the expression softened somewhat. 

 

“He was a sweet kid. Tsunayoshi Sawada. Went about un-bloodying the whole Mafia and took Vongola back to its roots”, she said with a wistful expression. 

 

The Doctor raised his eyebrows as they rounded a corner, “Roots?” 

 

She smirked, “Vongola was founded by a vigilante group” 

 

He didn’t pretend to be an expert on the mafia (Actually he did sometimes. Play the expert, that is) but this was a history he had never heard of. Not that he knew  _ everything _ but he knew pretty much about planet Earth’s. It was interesting, it was new, and it was fantastic. But it was a different Earth and he worried a bit… 

 

Because this girl… She wouldn’t find it here. 

 

He would’ve remembered a Japanese mafia boss in Italy. 

 

Harry stopped in front of a plain looking building. Her lips pressed together as keen eyes noticed all the inconsistencies, all the differences. And the lack of chaos was quite telling. 

 

“It was here… The entrance”, she whispered, “And now it’s in another world” 

 

Her voice was wistful, sad, and slightly pained. The Doctor swallowed and looked at it. His keen ears could hear voices inside. Shouting. Soundproof walls, he noted. But not enough to keep him from hearing. He frowned and took out his sonic screwdriver. Harry pushed down her emotions and took the distraction gladly. It whirred to life as the tip glowed blue. 

 

“What’s that?”, she asked curiously. 

 

“Sonic screwdriver”, was the absent answer as the Doctor took in the readings. 

 

Her eyebrows shot up and she nodded dubiously. It could do so many things. She kind of doubted it was a screwdriver. Even a sonic one. Could it even open screws? The Doctor frowned. 

 

“That can’t be right”, he said eventually. 

 

Harry groaned. She  _ hated _ Halloween. 

 

(Was it even Halloween anymore? The date was 15th of June 2003)

 

xXXx

 

Harry and the Doctor slipped into the crowd of rowdy people that shouted prices from the top of their lungs. It was an auction. Of course it would be an auction. Someone was talking into a microphone up front and calling out what had been offered. The Doctor looked at the stuff they were selling and narrowed his eyes.

 

“They’re selling alien things”, he told her. 

 

She started and looked at the pile of goods again. Yes, now that she thought of it they looked distinctly alien to the planet. Strange boxes, a finger or claw, and many other things she couldn’t even guess the purpose of. 

 

Wait. 

 

What was that? 

 

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked to the object in the Doctor’s hand and back at the object on stage. 

 

“It’s a sonic screwdriver!”, she breathed out. 

 

The Doctor looked startled and followed her gaze. 

 

“It’s  _ my _ sonic screwdriver! The old one”, his voice held the same amount of disbelief as hers, “But how?” 

 

“We have to get it back right?”, she asked and frowned as she thought on that. 

 

How did time even work? Was it happening now or did it already happen? She tried to remember that short trip to save Sirius oh so long ago but came up blank. Then she tried to understand it through Lambo’s Bazooka. But that picked up parallel universes so it was probably… different. That’s it! She needed to know more if she was going to be travelling in time and space. 

 

Well. If the Doctor still wanted her aboard… 

 

“Yes, we do have to get it back. It’s not supposed to be here, it broke!” 

 

Harry frowned at the stage, “It’s broken?” 

 

The Doctor didn’t answer as he stalked forward but was held back by the crowd. It was very slow going and everyone was shouting. The witch watched his back, unimpressed. She sighed through her nose and conjured a wooden thing looking exactly like the screwdriver. Well, as exactly as she could see this far away. She waited for the right moment when the shouting reached a crescendo and performed a Switching Spell. 

 

Now she had the screwdriver with no one the wiser. 

 

Her eyes flickered back to the Doctor and she stalked forward, poking his arm once. Then she stuck the sonic out to him. His eyes widened as he took it, then narrowed on her. 

 

“I  _ told _ you to not do that!”, he said harshly. 

 

Harry frowned back at him, “Wha- oh…”, she looked to the side, “It’s second nature by this point. Sorry” 

 

“It’s serious! Some of those devices on stage can trace energy and based on that-” 

 

A loud screech of someone up front stopped him and they turned to see green creatures with wings popping out of nowhere and aiming guns at the people and shooting. It was reflex again to step in front of the Doctor and cast a Shield Charm. 

 

“-it might alert something”, he finished darkly and started shouting orders to people. 

 

Harry was busy casting invisible shields and  _ Arresto Momentum _ , giving time for the people to get out. That was unsettling, if it was true. That someone could sense her magic here… She still had the cloaking on. But. The Doctor could’ve done some explaining! Not that she’d explained anything either. She looked to the squad of five goblin sized flying things with strange clothes and started casting something more offensive. 

 

“ _ Stupefy! Stupefy! _ ”, she got two down with stunners but the other three were smart and immediately moved for cover. Luckily for her they chose unattached things, like the desk where everything was, “ _ Locomotor! _ ”

 

She directed it to the side and revealed the three pointing the guns at her. Harry ducked and was ready to cast another stunner when the Doctor stepped in front of her, arm stretched as if to shield her. 

 

“Wait!”, he snapped and Harriet froze, casting a silent shield again and keeping an eye on the guns. 

 

The green creatures had somewhat insect like eyes and wings, as well as a beak for a mouth. In a word, alien. Their clothes were gray armor and they had stopped shooting. One let out a chattering sound and surprisingly, the Doctor answered. Harry frowned as she felt a mental probe from the TARDIS, which was rather impressive since she was so far away. 

 

It was as if… she was urging her to let her in. 

 

Harriet hadn’t had that many good experiences with things that got inside her mind and she showed that to the ship, creating a mental link with a shield in place should TARDIS try to force her way in. There was a feeling of regret and an apology, which Harry easily accepted. She couldn’t have known. Then she got an impression of words switching languages. Her eyes widened. 

 

Translating. TARDIS could translate if she let her in. 

 

Cautiously she did just that, imagining a path to the place where she processed words and their meanings, keeping it separated from her memories and feelings. 

 

“-she do to them?”, the green creature panicked. Two of its comrades were checking on the other limp forms. 

 

“Calm down now-”, the Doctor tried to tell them but Harry cut him off. 

 

“They’re only out cold. Should wake up in twenty minutes”, that is if she didn’t cast  _ Rennervate _ . Which she didn’t plan to. Yet at least. 

 

Three pairs of insect eyes snapped to her. And one pair of stormy blue. 

 

“You speak our tongue”, one of them said in surprise. 

 

She gave them a tight smile, “Not really. What did  _ you _ do to these people?” 

 

They were silent for a second and she moved to get to the nearest guy to check if he was still fine. Breathing was normal at least. And his heart was beating only slightly slower than average. 

 

“It is a paralysing agent. We use it to hunt our food”, said one and Harry’s eyes snapped up to him in horror and anger. 

 

Hunt. They were  _ hunting humans _ . She was about to stand up again when the Doctor spoke, voice low. 

 

“Humans are sentient and intelligent creatures, mulver. It’s against the Galactic Law to hunt on a Level 5 planet!” 

 

“We’re sorry. We didn’t know they were”, another one said. His eyes were bluer compared to the other two, “Our trap activated a half an hour ago as it sensed a huge herd near it. We were sent to capture them. I don’t know how it could’ve landed on a planet of Level 5” 

 

Harry sighed lightly and started casting diagnostic spells on the other fallen men and women. There weren’t that many and she wanted to be sure they were fine. Her saving people thing was still working after all these years. 

 

“Wow. So this is one big misunderstanding”, she said as she absently read the readings. They were all the same. They were fine. 

 

She would have hated to know what would have happened if her and the Doctor hadn’t stopped by. 

 

“So it seems Miss”, the blue eyes said relief in his voice at everything turning out okay. 

 

The Doctor seemed to have something else in mind. He took his sonic (not the broken one) and started scanning the cube trap thingy that started the mess. It was relatively simple technology. Only a scanner, communicator, and a location transmitter as well as readings on the surrounding area. He frowned. That shouldn’t be. Even if Harry’s magic (irritating, seriously) wasn’t scrambling the sensors a bit that wouldn’t be possible. 

 

All the planets near here were inhabitable at this point in time and a jump across millions of light years took so much energy… And yet the residue was so small. They wouldn’t have been on their home planet, that was for sure. 

 

“How were you able to beam this far?”, he asked suspiciously. 

 

There was silence on the other end. One of them lowered his head in defeat. Harry was done and her gaze snapped over to them in silent anger. That sounded like they were here on purpose and now she reevaluated everything she’d been told. Though she still didn’t know everything about the situation and would wait until releasing her rage. 

 

“We- “, the one started but paused before continuing desperately, “We didn’t know they were intellectual. We need food! Offsprings are dying of hunger!”

 

And immediately her anger was snuffed. Her eyes softened as they took in the aliens’ forms. She let her Flames flow out and brush gently against their life force to determine if he was lying. He wasn’t. Her system wasn’t foolproof (like Vongola Intuition) but way better than nothing. She looked to the Doctor, eyes shining with compassion and worry for the smaller species. 

 

His eyes were full of grief and guilt. The witch wondered why. And if she could help him too. He blinked slowly and glanced Harry’s way before speaking. 

 

“I can help”, he told them. 

 

The girl rolled her eyes and corrected him, “ _ We _ can help” 

 

The Doctor shot her a startled glance. She just smiled good naturedly. 

 

“I’ve been told I have a saving people thing” 

 

xXXx

 

Harriet stood where the mulver spaceship had warped away to faster-than-light speeds towards the coordinates the Doctor had given them. It had been a beautiful blue and silver ship that was slightly smaller than she expected. The Doctor had improved it with some of the alien tech of the auction and the rest was safely tucked into the TARDIS. Only one was dangerous enough to just destroy. 

 

The mulvers would go to legal planet sized hunting grounds and bring much needed food to their families. To their home. Everything of today slowly came back and she was left feeling drained and sad. 

 

Home. She… couldn’t go home. 

 

Immediately seven rainbow colored bonds flared to life and she was assaulted with protests and reprimands as well as comfort and worry. Her eyes widened as her own flames curled around her, warmth spreading through her limbs. Oh. 

 

_ Oh. You guys…! _ , she thought breathlessly a tear slipping past her eyelids as an affectionate smile spread on her lips. 

 

Of course. She  _ was _ home. Home was where her bonds were. And they were always with her. Which meant she was always home. She could go anywhere in the universe and still be at home. She hugged her chest and ducked her head, a happy grin of excitement blooming on her face. 

 

“...Harry?”, the Doctor’s voice asked somewhere beside her. 

 

She peeked at him through her bangs before lifting her head, eyes sparkling with happiness and tears. It took her a moment to realize she had relaxed enough to show her emotions. The first time in a month she  _ had  _ these emotions. 

 

“I just- I realized I was already home. No need for a familiar environment when home is always with me”, her grin widened, “I could go anywhere. But I’d still be home” 

 

His sharp blue eyes watched her with amazement before unconsciously looking towards where he left the TARDIS. The one who had always been there with him. He smiled. A small but completely unstrained smile. The first that wasn’t forced at all. 

 

“Yeah…”, he agreed, lost in thoughts and emotions, “Yeah” 

 

Then he caught himself and looked back to Harriet, the girl who was definitely interesting and definitely had her heart in the right place. And nobody died this time! Most of that due to her amazing abilities. The smile turned into a hopeful grin as he extended his hand. Harry’s green eyes didn’t stray from his light blue ones as she waited. 

 

“Want to come with me? To see the universe?” 

 

He could see how her eyes lit up with anticipation and excitement. That was a good sign. She slowly reached out and took his much bigger hand, squeezing lightly. A lopsided smile played on her lips. 

 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world” 

 

xXXx


	3. Life With the Team of Trouble Magnets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the Doctor, Harry, and the TARDIS get to know each other a little bit better. Kind of snapshots from their lives. 
> 
> (These two can be absolutely terrifying when they have reason to. I swear I didn't do it on purpose!)

 

She laid on the soft bed in her new room that TARDIS had provided and thought. The ship was sentient. Flowing and twisting and  _ living _ around her, shielding everyone and everything inside. She closed her eyes and focused on her mind. To her link with the TARDIS that still blocked out most of her. 

 

Oh, how she was glad her Mist had put her through mental discipline. She sent a rush of gratitude towards the bond. Viper’s indigo grew brighter and smug. 

 

After Snape and Lockhart she had doubted she ever would learn mind arts. 

 

Still, now she was glad because that meant she could decide if she trusted TARDIS in her mind or not. The girl breathed in and out and opened her mind up more. She could feel the ancient ship caress every new aspect it found. It was light telepathy. 

 

It felt nice after usually getting attack after attack. 

 

Slowly she felt the TARDIS back and was surprised to find it heightened her sense of…  _ everything _ . It was overwhelming. Like she was looking at time itself. If she delved deeper she had the feeling she'd either go crazy or gain another set of scary abilities. 

 

Yes, she knew she was a powerhouse. She didn't need more power. Until she did. 

 

Harry grimaced. It was annoying sometimes how she got the rarest abilities and stuff ever and then only managed to survive because of them. Seriously, parseltongue was just the start. Her magic was scarily powerful. She was a prodigy in fighting and had excellent reflexes. She had adaptability that could put well-groomed actresses and zen masters to shame. Her Flame type just  _ had _ to be the rarest and most sought after. 

 

Don't even get started with the basilisk venom and phoenix tears in her bloodstream. 

 

It gave Reborn and many healers and doctors  _ migraines  _ when they tried to give her medicine or she got poisoned. The venom just burned  _ everything  _ that entered and the tears kept it from killing her. Luckily it didn’t carry on to Flames. Especially when Reborn and Skull figured out how to  _ amplify _ the phoenix tears. Harry’s life and her utterly bipolar luck made sure everyone thought the things she'd experienced were the craziest there ever would be. 

 

Though now that she’d met the Doctor she wondered a bit about that. 

 

But seriously! 

 

She couldn't even  _ die _ . 

 

Funny how after she defeated a man desperate for immortality she, wanting nothing to do with it, had that curse shoved on her. 

 

The TARDIS hummed comfortingly. Harry smiled and lifted her defenses almost completely, sure that the ship wouldn't hurt her. After all, she felt Harry and Harry felt the TARDIS. When you were connected like that it became impossible to lie. At least almost. 

 

And it only took a week to trust her enough! 

 

Sighing happily the immortal drifted to sleep. 

 

xXXx

 

Harry and the Doctor had gotten into a routine. Well, as much a routine as they could manage. Two trouble magnets living in the same space usually meant something either went wrong or strange or they shifted schedule so often it no longer mattered. Usually it was the latter or just something odd coming up when in the TARDIS. 

 

They made many stops around the universe and history. The Doctor played tour guide as they visited breathtaking views, chased after distress signals, saved people and worlds, and just tested the universe's best places. Surprisingly trouble only found them about 35% of the time. 

 

Well, it was maybe five percent higher than normal for either of them but who could complain? It made life interesting. Worth living. 

 

_ Atonement _ , whispered a voice in Harry's head as she looked at the Doctor. 

 

She hadn't pried. She respected his silence and would do so until both of them knew each other better. Yes, they made a good team. Great even. But that was only with their abilities and similar moral codes. More inclined to peaceful solutions than violence. Both of them were definitely impressed by the other. At this point, they could consider themselves friends. 

 

Or tentative partners in save-the-world club. 

 

Both had wounds and scars from their pasts and the company helped. Healed. Gave purpose. She was surprised to find that the ache in her chest for lost family had eased much more in the past month than the one before. The Doctor was getting better too, she could tell. There were many things they didn't talk about but that didn't mean they didn't find out more about each other every day they lived together. 

 

They might not be okay yet but they were getting there. 

 

xXXx

 

“Huh. Could've been worse”, Harry stopped in her tracks to look at the Doctor looking into the first mirror they'd seen on a planet. It was easy to find one here. She'd have named it the Planet of Mirrors or something, “Look at the ears” 

 

She raised an eyebrow. That sounded like he'd never seen his face before. Or, more likely, he had seen it and then it changed. Sounded ridiculous. But she'd  _ seen _ more ridiculous. 

 

“You can change your face?”, she asked curiously. 

 

He looked at her like he forgot she was there for a moment. She could see the flash of discomfort and decided not to press. 

 

“Cool. One of my friends was a metamorphmagus. Could change herself to look like anyone. My Godson inherited the ability. It was fun to watch his hair change colors with his emotions”, Harry rattled on with a smile, completely unconcerned of this new thing she had learned of her friend. She could see that he relaxed. 

 

There was more to it. But then again, there was more to everything Harry told too. It was a friendship with secrets but that was fine. Worked for both of them. 

 

For now, everything was fine and they found a crystal empire in need of saving. 

 

xXXx

 

“She doesn’t like that mallet” 

 

“The TARDIS talks to you?” 

 

“Well, not  _ talk _ talk. More like sends feelings and images. Impressions. And only sometimes” 

 

“Harriet, are you sure you’re  _ not _ telepathic?” 

 

“...” 

 

“Harry…?” 

 

“I- I don’t actually know. Does the practice of mental discipline and mind reading via magic count?” 

 

“Definitely telepathic, how is mind reading not telepathic?” 

 

“Huh. Okay” 

 

xXXx

 

Harry had gotten into the habit of cooking. 

 

After she tasted the nutrient bars once she had outright refused to let either of them live like that. The TARDIS cheered her on. It had become something of a past time to try and trick the Doctor into the kitchen to eat. He was grumpy with them. But mostly for show. 

 

The immortal girl was sure he liked the food though. Especially after she started baking banana things. 

 

His addiction to bananas rivaled Harry's enthusiasm for treacle. 

 

When they found  _ that _ out banana treacle tart became number one on the dessert list. That made for funny ingredient gathering trips. Shopping for things around the universe and getting them from a rainforest of bananas or the fountain of syrup (Harry insisted it was treacle) were two entirely different things. 

 

Who knew you could find a plot for world domination on floating wheat fields? 

 

xXXx

 

“Impossible!”, the Doctor breathed out as he watched wide-eyed at a cauldron Harry had dug from her backpack. Which was apparently bigger on the inside. 

 

Actually, it wasn’t the cauldron really. It was the bubbling…  _ potion _ inside it. Harry was completely unconcerned about any laws of physics and the strange things she prepared and threw into the liquid that  _ shouldn’t be liquid _ . There was no way the bones of some strange small creature could dissolve in water, aconite and some other liquids. And that radical a change in color with something so  _ small _ and the  _ glow _ shouldn’t be possible at all. 

 

Seriously! From red to turquoise to  _ white! _ Then golden and glowing. It made no sense. At all. Like most of the stuff Harriet did. He was getting a headache and he wondered if this was what humans meant when they said their head was spinning. 

 

Many of the ingredients only had  _ poetic _ properties that  _ worked _ and made a  _ liquid _ able to do something that it really really shouldn’t. 

 

“Doc”, he bristled at the nickname but had long since given up correcting his… friend. Yes. Friend. He had a feeling she did it just to annoy him. Luckily she didn’t use it that often, “Just be glad it works or we’d have a  _ big _ problem” 

 

“But it  _ shouldn’t _ work!”, he scratched his head, thoughts whirling as he gave Harry a light glare, “We’re scanning this back in the TARDIS” 

 

Harry’s lips twitched into a smile as she put the last ingredients into the cauldron and stirred. Some were apparently  _ dragon scales _ . He wasn’t sure he believed that either. But Harry’s world was definitely different so maybe he might. 

 

“Okay”, the witch agreed easily and cast something wandlessly to make the cauldron float behind them. Breaking even more laws of physics and gravity. He was getting used to that. And he could even  _ feel _ some very small and surprisingly  _ comforting _ ripples in time whenever she did it. That was kind of unnerving but nothing to worry about. He’d scanned. He scanned a lot of stuff Harry did. The girl who was definitely older than she looked (perhaps twenty-five) grinned at him with amused emerald eyes, “Let’s just get this to the King before he blows up his castle” 

 

Right. The Mad King and the meeting of Knights. Better worry about them first and Harry’s daily impossibility later. 

 

He just hoped her magic didn’t explode the scanners again. Those were harder to Harry-proof (“ _ Magic _ -proof, Doc.  _ Magic! _ ”) than other electric equipment. Even harder to make them work  _ with _ magic. The Time Lord would’ve loved to meet her genius friend. It was hard to believe her phone was made by a human. 

 

“Doctor!”, Harry snapped her fingers, “Focus!” 

 

Oh. Right, yeah, focus. 

 

Somehow thwarting evil plots had become  _ way _ easier and less deadly since Harry came around. And much more fun. Even with the impossible distractions. 

 

( _ Especially _ with them but he wasn’t going to say that out loud) 

 

xXXx

 

“Gaah!”, Harriet’s groan echoed to the control room where the Doctor was fixing TARDIS' heat circuits. 

 

He raised his head to watch as she stomped into the room and walked up to him, hair ruffled into a messy bird’s nest as she seemed to think furiously. The source of her frustration seemed to be the piece of paper she was holding. It was thrust in front of his nose. 

 

“Help!”, she demanded. 

 

The Doctor gave her a sullen look before glancing at the paper once and rattling off the answer to the math problem almost instantly. It was like asking a basic twenty-first-century human what was one plus one! Way too easy. Only went up to the fourth dimension. 

 

Harry stared at him like she’d never seen him before. He stared right back. 

 

“Wow. You have a super brain”, she said and grinned in delight, “Thanks!” 

 

The Doctor was left staring at the empty space the girl had been to and wondered if he should be offended. Did she only  _ just  _ figure that out? 

 

xXXx

 

One morning Harry woke up to someone knocking on her door. It was no surprise that it was the Doctor. But what  _ was _ a surprise was that the door hadn’t been in her room before. Rising out of bed cautiously she opened it to come face to face with a blinding grin. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and mumbled a good morning. 

 

“What’s this door doin’ here?”, she asked once she was awake enough. It was strange how easily she slept like a log on this safe telepathic ship. 

 

He stepped away and swept a hand over the new  _ room _ the door lead to. She gasped. It was a workshop. For doing…  _ everything _ . She could do runes, potions, experiment on new magical things and  _ so much other stuff _ that she didn’t understand the function of. The Doctor was practically bouncing in place. If he ever did such a thing. 

 

“So”, he said, excitement coloring his voice, “Want to do some experimenting?” 

 

xXXx

 

It was a normal day… night… uh. Normal  _ time _ in the TARDIS. Well, in the Time Vortex. 

 

Harry was marveling at the ship’s ability to know exactly what she liked in her bedroom. It had a view of a sky like the Great Hall that gave all the light she needed. When she went to sleep the time machine gave her a night sky. She only needed about three hours. Boy had the Doctor been thrilled when he found out. 

 

More adventure time (ha!) apparently. Not that she minded. 

 

But right now they were just lazing around. Or at least Harry was. The Doctor was either tinkering or repairing the TARDIS. From what she’d gathered there had been a big,  _ big _ event that had gone wrong and now she was damaged. She had offered to fix some things. After that the Doctor sometimes barged in on her or sought her out just to get a broken part mended with a  _ Reparo _ . She didn’t mind at all. 

 

She was kind of bored. Thinking of what to do. There was no need to make food right then or anything else. Maybe she should come up with little projects to do when things were quiet. 

 

Harry blinked, a memory popping to the surface. She shot up from her bed (not too soft, not too hard) and rushed to her backpack, tapping a stone on it thrice to get it to change to the right color before opening the flap and jumping in. Yes, she’d gotten a bit Extension Charm-happy. There were storage  _ rooms _ in there, as well as a small bedroom she hadn’t used in years. 

 

Right now she was in the Memory Room. Or the one with the pensieve. 

 

A few minutes later the Doctor jumped slightly as Harry plopped the heavy marble pensieve next to him. He blinked at it before climbing out from under the TARDIS console and looked at it curiously. 

 

“What’s this?”, he asked. 

 

Harry grinned uh oh that was a smile he recognized. A smile that promised something impossible and fun. 

 

“A pensieve!”, she stated happily, “It shows memories. I remember you said you wanted to see Verde’s work” 

 

There was a sudden surge of interest and approval from the Lightning bond. The Doctor was now looking far more interested in the big device. Harry summoned her wand in hand, this time the Holly one, and tapped it against her temple before dropping the silver strand in the magical water. She looked up to find the Doctor once again staring at her wand, thoughts definitely rushing in his mind. 

 

“Go on”, she encouraged, “Just touch the water and we’ll see it from an outsider’s point of view” 

 

He did as told just as she put a finger in and they were plunged into the memory. 

 

It was her and Verde in a lab. She was lounging in a chair and watching the green haired man’s hands as he worked. The thing on the table was definitely a gun. But not the normal sort. Though you wouldn’t really be able to tell from the outside. Just that it looked very futuristic for the time it was made in. The Doctor’s eyes narrowed on it. 

 

“He’s making a gun”, he said, voice tinged with disapproval. 

 

Harry just laughed, “That’s not a  _ traditional _ gun. It’s quite fun actually” 

 

The Memory-Verde was shortly ready and picked it up to give it to Harriet. The raven-haired woman took it in her hands with barely contained excitement. 

 

“Where do I shoot?”, she asked with a manic grin. 

 

Verde fixed his glasses to hide a smile and pointed at the opposite wall, “You shouldn’t be able to burn that down” 

 

“Oi! My Cloud Flames aren’t  _ that _ destructive!”, she mock-scowled before turning and aiming. 

 

The gun powered up and shot a beam of orange to the wall. It left behind a flaming oval. Harry could feel the Doctor’s tenseness and wondered if it had been such a good idea to show him this one. But then the Memory-Harry shot to another place and this one had a darker tinge to it. The other oval’s flaming middle dispersed to the sides just as another oval appeared next to the thing. Tenseness dissipated, leaving behind only curiosity and giddiness. The itch to try and make something. 

 

Memory-Harry laughed and jumped to hug the scientist behind her, “You did it! You made a portal gun!” 

 

Verde sighed in mock annoyance and awkwardly patted her back. 

 

The memory ended and the Doctor and Harry found themselves blinking at each other in the TARDIS control room. Just as Harry predicted her friend immediately started asking questions, both about the portal gun and about the pensieve. She almost sighed in relief. Boredom countered. 

 

Yup. Completely normal time in the TARDIS. 

 

xXXx

 

“I shouldn’t have brought you here”, the Doctor moaned. Well, as close to moaning as he ever got. 

 

Harry didn’t even appear to hear. She was buried in a pile of books, eyes hungrily skimming over them as she read and read and read. The TARDIS had a  _ library _ and there was no way she  _ wasn’t _ going to spend time there. Even if it cut on the Doctor’s adventure time. 

 

“Your fault for not showing it sooner”, she said absently. Hermione had  _ really _ rubbed off on her. And Viper. And Lal. And Verde. Everyone hardworking in her chosen family really. 

 

xXXx

 

“Test thirty-six”, Harry muttered as she directed her magic into the cube thingy the Doctor had made. 

 

It started glowing a brighter and brighter golden orange. Magic filled it up and she braced herself to cast a shield in case it exploded like some of the earlier versions. Then she stopped and carefully took her magic away. Nothing happened for several seconds. The Doctor and Harry turned to each other with bright excitement and happiness in their eyes. 

 

“It worked!”, the Doctor laughed as he started flipping levers to get the cube down. 

 

The witch bounced on her soles and laughed with before giving him a surprise hug, “We did it!” 

 

He stiffened for a second before relaxing and grinning down at the girl. It was kind of fun to do these experiments with her. 

 

Scratch that,  _ really _ fun. 

 

And now they had a very powerful magic cube (“ _ Energy _ cube! Energy!”, the Doctor protested but finally gave up on calling Harry’s magic anything but that) for emergency fuel. 

 

xXXx

 

“A planet with a sea full of  _ soap bubbles!? _ ”, Harriet asked incredulously as they stepped out of the TARDIS. 

 

“Yup!”, the Doctor said cheerfully, “Welcome to the Kuplatus Sea!” 

 

Before them was a landscape full of white bubbles that shone rainbow colors under the morning sunlight. The Time Lord was prepared for the usual gasp of wonder but heard nothing. Frowning in confusion he turned to find empty air behind him. He looked left and right, a twinge of worry in his light blue eyes. 

 

“Harry?” 

 

A giggle from above got him to look up at the girl lazily floating in a bubble of her own. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. That was fast. She just grinned down at him. 

 

“I am so going to make a spell for this!” 

 

The Doctor had a feeling he’d be roped to help with that. Especially with the maths, or arithmancy as she put it. Not that he really minded anymore. Did he even mind to begin with? He wasn’t sure. 

 

Then they found out someone was making illegal weapons out of some exploding bubbles and put a stop to the whole thing. 

 

xXXx

  
  


They stared at the giant Statue of Liberty on a deserted asteroid used for deforming things and looked to each other in unison. Both steel blue and emerald green pairs of eyes were wide with fascinated horror. It was very very good they had decided to test this one somewhere it wouldn’t hurt anyone even accidentally. Except maybe them but they had shields for that.  _ Powerful  _ shields accelerated with a rune circle, magic, and the more ‘normal’ scientific methods. 

 

Just as the other rune circle they’d just activated. Though with that  _ technology _ was the one to amplify the effects. 

 

Still. This had to be verbalized. 

 

“Did we just… Transfigure an entire mountain  _ within a second? _ ”, Harry almost couldn’t believe her words. Except she’d  _ seen _ it. 

 

The Doctor nodded slowly, “We did” 

 

They stared at the statue for a moment longer. 

 

“It can’t stay here”, the Time Lord noted. 

 

Another silent second. Then Harry’s quiet question. 

 

“Should we do the same with a  _ Bombarda Maxima _ ?” 

 

Some time later they were staring at a crater full of metal debris. 

 

“...We are terrifying”, Harry commented feeling a bit detached from the moment. 

 

“...Can’t argue with that” 

 

They walked back to the TARDIS with this information weighing heavily on their minds. Then Harry started chuckling. 

 

“Imagine what would’ve happened with a Bubble-Producing Spell” 

 

The Doctor paused, imagining the giant  _ cloud _ of unburstable multicolored bubbles, and started laughing too. They’d have given kids a giant playing ground. Yeah, they were terrifying. But at least they were the good kind of terrifying. 

 

xXXx

 

“You can  _ teleport!? _ ” 

 

“It’s called apparition” 

 

“You  _ can _ teleport! And you tell me  _ now!? _ ” 

 

“Didn’t come up” 

 

The Doctor grumbled under his breath as the witch calmly turned her just acquired key to their triple deadlocked cell. One day he was going to figure this girl out. One day. 

 

“…Would this be the wrong time to say I have more than one way to do it?” 

 

He looked up at the ceiling and tried to be patient. 

 

One day. 

 

“Seriously, we need a way to open a double or triple deadlock without me pulling extreme measures. Like blowing it up” 

 

And he was back to conversing as they escaped. 

 

“I’m surprised you  _ can _ open a deadlock. What was the incantation again?” 

 

“ _ Alohomora _ . Learned it at eleven-years-old” 

 

“Right. We’re scanning it back at the TARDIS” 

 

“Okay. We should also check out  _ Aberto _ ,  _ Cistem Aperio _ and  _ Dissendium _ ” 

 

The Doctor almost groaned at the words that sounded like they might be for opening different things.  _ One day _ . 

 

xXXx


	4. Trees Within a Giant Whirlpool of Weapons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's first over 90% water planet. They learn something new about each other.

 

The TARDIS shook and rattled, the familiar wheezing sound echoing inside the time machine as it materialized. At this rate, Harry thought she’d never stop marveling at it. Or at TARDIS in general. The humming in her mind intensified and she thought it sounded like a thanks. One thing she’d noticed was that she preferred to talk by giving sensations instead of words. 

 

She wasn’t sure if the TARDIS  _ could _ talk in other ways. 

 

“And we’re here!”, the Doctor said cheerfully grinning at her, stalking towards the doors, “Welcome to your very first planet that’s over 90% water. The Ark Molube!” 

 

Just as he said the name he flung them open to reveal bright sunlight and a multitude of noises. Crickets, for one. Some roaring of a waterfall. Birds. His mouth fell open, baffled. 

 

“What?” 

 

They were in the middle of a rainforest. A big one that spread out across the land. At least judging from what they could see from the very sturdy tree branch they were perched upon. With big,  _ really _ big, trees hiding much of the view. Harry tried to keep a straight face and failed miserably as she started laughing. The Doctor huffed at her. She just cackled. 

 

“Well-”, her voice was laced with mirth, “at least it’s a  _ rain _ forest” 

 

The Doctor was already pulled into the mystery as he rushed back to the console, checking everything over. 

 

“We’re in the right place. That’s odd…”, he muttered, “The time is right too. But this is supposed to be an  _ ocean planet! _ ” 

 

“Whoa!”, just then Harry’s muffled voice came from outside, “You have to see this!” 

 

In just a moment the Doctor was out the door and at the witch’s side. The witch’s who was kneeling impossibly at the  _ side _ of the tree branch, somehow anchored to it with the help of magic. She was looking down with awe. The Doctor took the safer approach and laid on his stomach, looking down and blinking in surprise. 

 

“Oh”, he said as he looked at the clear water the trees were growing from. 

 

Water that seemed to go deep, deep,  _ deep _ down. Along with all the tree roots. And tree trunks. Many different sorts of trees here. All of them able to grow in water. He grinned again. 

 

“ _ Told _ you it was 90% water! Everything else is the plants keeping the planet from deforming!” 

 

Harry hopped to her feet and stood straighter, waving a hand to release the Sticking Charm. Her eyes tracked the sky. She shifted weight from foot to foot, desire to fly overwhelming her. 

 

“Is there any dangerous local life? Above water I mean?”, she asked, reaching for her necklace where a miniaturized metal broom always rested. 

 

Oblivious to what was going to happen the Doctor stood too and gave an answer, “No. There’s still probably some herbivorous flying creatures though. Could have sharp claws and teeth” 

 

Harriet  _ Engorgio- _ ed her beloved Thunderstrike, another one of Verde’s creations, and tapped her glasses to take a form that would protect her eyes from the winds. She easily threw her hair up in a thick, messy ponytail before rubbing her hands together. Excitement was coursing through her as she flung herself on the broom. 

 

By now the Doctor turned and his eyes widened as they took her in. On a metal broom. Her claims to be a witch rattled in his brain. 

 

“ _ Wait! _ ”, he shouted as the girl shot up with amazing speed, the energy used sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. He had so many questions. 

 

She laughed and did a loop de loop only to stop and hover over him, “I’m gonna explore a bit. Will be back in ten minutes!”, and she was gone before he could say anything. 

 

He scowled at the blur rushing between trees and branches, farther and farther away from him and the TARDIS. Harry set new meanings to the wandering off thing. And she kept pulling impossible stunts. He wondered if he’d ever  _ not _ be surprised by her. Well, at least she could take care of herself. That much he’d seen. 

 

Didn’t stop the flash of worry. 

 

Tsk. That girl would be the death of him. She’d  _ better _ be back in ten minutes  _ exactly _ . Or he’d track her down. 

 

xXXx

 

Harry was having the time of her life as she flew in a dangerous zigzag close to the speed of sound. It was strange but she could get past the sound barrier too. Which was why the broom was named Thunderstrike and not Lightningstrike. Verde, and everyone in her family, knew how much she loved speed. 

 

She made a sharp upturn and shot straight through the thick and gigantic leaves. This planet’s atmosphere probably had way more oxygen than normal. 

 

The girl shivered slightly as the wind pushed past her jacket and cast a wandless Warming Charm. A must have as a traveler. She whooped as she spiraled around a cloud before going for a dive, letting herself drop from the sky in a freefall. Feeling like doing a stunt she spread her arms and legs into a star shape, letting her broom just hang from her right hand. 

 

Just as she was about to hit the treetops she climbed back on and shot off back towards the TARDIS and the Doctor. Blood was rushing through her ears and her lips were stretched in a painfully wide grin. She decided to go a little slower to take in the sights. 

 

White trunks, green leaves, brown and reddish golden trunks, leaves of different shapes and sizes, flowers, alien fruits, vines and moss, bird creatures, colors she didn't know were possible, yellowish sunlight illuminating everything, the smell of freshness… It was breathtakingly beautiful. She once again thanked the Doctor in her mind for taking her to see the universe. Even if it wasn’t her own it offered so much to see, so much to  _ do _ , and gave a feeling of importance as they countered threat after threat. Saved people. Saved worlds. And ecosystems. And many, many other things. 

 

Most of all it finally made her feel  _ free _ . 

 

Her main secondary was Cloud after all. 

 

Something caught her attention and she made an abrupt stop and turn. There was a whirlpool in the water. A giant whirlpool. It was where that roar of water came from, not a waterfall. She narrowed her eyes at it. The thing felt… ominous. Call it a gut feeling. Her gut feelings were fairly accurate. 

 

She summoned the Cloak of Invisibility and turned herself and whatever she was holding (broom and backpack) invisible. To everything. It had taken only a bit of trying on Reborn’s, Verde’s and everyone’s part to understand it could make  _ anything _ invisible about her. That’s what happened when you were the Hallows’ chosen owner. 

 

Time to do some investigating. 

 

But first a patronus to the Doctor. She kind of regretted not being there to see his reaction. 

 

xXXx

 

It had been seven minutes and thirty-six seconds when a glowing silver  _ stag _ of concentrated happy and pleasant emotion and magic sauntered into the TARDIS. 

 

The Doctor wanted to forgo the last two minutes and hunt Harriet down to explain its existence. Only the stag started… talking. In Harry's voice. It was a peculiar way to send a message. 

 

“Hi, sorry. Won’t be back in ten. I found a giant whirlpool about six kilometers to the left from the TARDIS. Feels ominous. I’m doing some investigation. Oh, and you won’t be able to track me. Probably” 

 

And the stag faded, leaving the Doctor to stare at the spot with exasperation and annoyance even as his brain started listing ways to start tracking something that can’t be tracked. Oh well. Whirlpool.  _ Ominous _ feeling whirlpool. It sounded pretty interesting. Still… 

 

“She  _ really _ doesn’t get the ‘don’t wander off’ thing”, he murmured as he started piloting the TARDIS nearer the location he’d been given. 

 

Actually, he didn’t remember if he’d ever said it to her. That  _ might _ explain some things. 

 

xXXx

 

She could feel an imprint nearby. An imprint of death. Something dying before their time. Something final. They were the leafless trees. So dry on the planet full of water. There were clear wounds on the trees surrounding the tunnel of water that just spiraled down and down and down. It was deep. Deeper than she’d thought and she shivered at the thought of getting caught in its violent flow. 

 

Harry ignored it for now and looked around, examining the gashes in the tree bark and moss. It was like something big had crashed through. Or shot out from the whirlpool and hit it. She didn’t know what she’d prefer. What was worse, almost  _ all _ of the trees had some damage. Some branches had been cut. 

 

Most were at least two meters thick. 

 

Sighing softly she concentrated on the imprints. They were all surrounding the trees and the whirlpool. Around dead trees. 

 

Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to dive there. It gave her a  _ really _ bad feeling. She wondered if there were alien monsters in the waters. There probably would be with their luck.  _ Their _ luck. It was funny how fast it became a ‘we’ thing. The Trouble Magnets. She looked down into the unnerving waters and imagined she saw something dark move under the surface. Then again, it might not be imagination. 

 

A very familiar and welcome wheezing sound came from her right and she looked up to a tree branch. The TARDIS slowly came to view there and the Doctor stepped out with a strange device. He looked around for a bit before locking on to her direction. She was kind of impressed. Annoyance and sternness (mostly just there for show) were radiating off of him. 

 

“Harriet, _how_ did you make a _corporeal stag_ out of _positive_ _emotions_?”, he asked lowly with a tinge of frustration. 

 

She snapped into existence, Cloak gone in an instant as she willed it gone, and grinned as he blinked three times. This was the first time he saw her doing that too. She could almost hear his whirling thoughts as his brilliant brain tried to work out how her newly revealed powers worked. She wasn't going to run out of new tricks anytime soon though. 

 

He scowled at her, “You keep  _ doing _ that! Stop it!” 

 

“Nope!”, she said and flew over to him, dropping down on the branch and casting a  _ Reducio _ . Her broom was back to necklace size and she attached it to its chain, “You'd get bored” 

 

He tried to stare sternly at the woman before deflating with a sigh. 

 

“Right. What did you find?” 

 

She opened her mouth to answer before freezing and looking down at the water. She summoned her Flames, curling them around her in warning and enhancing her senses with the clarity that filled her mind. Something fast and large shot up and  _ cut _ the tree’s branch from under them. The Doctor yelled for her in alarm and she jumped next to him, reflexes fast as ever. She almost cursed herself for making her broom small again. 

 

“ _ Arresto Momentum! _ ”, she murmured and pointed both her wands down. It slowed the branch’s decent but it tilted and the TARDIS fell over, plummeting towards the sea. 

 

Harry didn’t hesitate and neither did the Doctor. They jumped straight after her, Harry gaining a boost of speed from her Flames. She cast the spell again on the TARDIS and found herself sweating with strain. 

 

It was at times like these she wished the box wasn’t so resistant to magic. 

 

She saw the thing shoot up with its mouth wide open. Its sharp teeth flashed in the sunlight. A flick of her wand had her friend Banished to the TARDIS' open doors as she turned mid-fall to face the threat. She caught a glimpse of the Doc’s wide and horrified eyes as the doors slammed closed, sealing him in. Harry was just glad he was relatively safe in there. 

 

“ _ Ascendio! _ ”, and she was lifted high into the air just as the giant sea fish thingy shot under her. It reminded her of a piranha. 

 

The TARDIS fell into the whirlpool and she felt her chest tighten with worry. They would be alright. They  _ had _ to be. 

 

Another piranha thingy with a very large dorsal fin shot after her as she gathered her Flames to guide herself to a branch. It wasn’t high enough. Not really. The wounds kept going to the highest branches and she found herself needing to dodge as another one shot  _ fishbone darts _ out of its mouth. They were guiding her away from the whirlpool, away from the TARDIS, and she wouldn’t have it. 

 

Harry steadied herself and stared at the army of fish head on. Her Flames coiled around her like a snake ready to strike. She let both her wands fall into her hands, Holly one in the right and Elder in the left. 

 

If they wanted a fight, they got one. 

 

xXXx

 

The Doctor found himself in a freefall inside his beloved ship and cursed Harry for getting him out and leaving  _ herself _ there. Granted it was a better solution then letting themselves get eaten but did she  _ have _ to play the hero all the time? Well… not that he himself didn’t do that occasionally… 

 

Besides she could handle herself. At least for a while. 

 

…That still didn’t stop him from worrying. 

 

Give him a break. She was against a giant piranha and piranha didn’t hunt alone! Of course he would be worried no matter how capable she was. 

 

Steely blue eyes were focused as he looked for something to save them. He reached for a floating hatstand that had been in the corner of the console room. Grabbing it he maneuvered himself around and hooked it around a reiling. With fast and precise movements he pulled himself there and started reaching for the controls. 

 

Why did he have to adjust the gravity manipulators today of all days? He blamed it on Potter Luck. Or Team Trouble Magnet. It was inevitable that they came up with names for things that might be putting them in these situations. 

 

He had limited time. 

 

Pushing down a button and pulling a lever he maneuvered around some floating objects as he tried to reach the necessary things for getting into the Time Vortex. He glared at the handbrake he had pushed down just thirteen minutes ago. It was on the other side. Too far away and too little time to get there. 

 

Grabbing the convenient hatstand again he reached out with it and tried to pull it up. Just then an alarm flared, informing him that the stop was too close and time was running out. Gritting his teeth he switched target and hit a series of buttons with the ‘stand. Then he threw himself down just in time for the TARDIS’ flight mode to activate, covering his head with his arms. She didn’t like flight. He made a point of not doing it as long as it could be avoided. 

 

The sudden stop made his insides lurch and twist as gravity righted itself but he was conscious and intact. 

 

Good. Time Lord advantages helped him get up way faster than a human as he rushed around the console to get the stupid handbrake. Only, noises from outside stopped him. He almost wanted to pretend he didn’t hear their cries for help because  _ Harry was still up there _ but he knew she could protect herself. 

 

And he had a time machine. 

 

Banging his hand to the console in frustration he ignored the TARDIS’ concerned hum and stalked to the doors. 

 

Harry better be alright up there. 

 

xXXx

 

She was getting tired. These fish had giants’ skin level of magic resistance and a blast of Harmony had almost no effect. Her Flames were pretty much her only defense against the shoal of giant piranha. These didn’t seem to possess any intelligence beyond eating and killing. She had to keep above water and in the trees. She also had to get to the whirlpool and soon. Her eyes narrowed as she let her wands snap back into their wrist holsters. 

 

Harry once again unshrank her broom (her Flame weapon nowadays) and prepared her Seeker reflexes that had evolved into mastery of dodging. 

 

The girl weaved through the jumping Gryffindor colored fish monsters. There were so many but she didn’t want to go about killing wildlife even if they proved to be a menace. From what she’d seen of these though, she needed to confirm they  _ belonged _ on this planet. The damage to those trees… She grimaced, dodging sharp teeth and nudging her Thunderstrike to the right. 

 

Almost there. She needed an extra advantage. So she turned herself invisible and shot up to let two piranhas smash together and fall into the waves. 

 

There. A clear route. Harry shot down like lightning as she skillfully avoided scaly mass, bone projectiles, and dorsal fins that were razor sharp from what she’d seen of those branches. Then she flew down the watery rabbit hole just within the speed of sound. Even with all her experience and skill she didn’t see the shadow in the whirlpool’s wall. 

 

She only had time to widen her eyes in horror as a piranha shot through, a caudal fin digging into her side as her grip on the broom faltered. The Cloak ripped and vanished to heal inside her magic. Stuck in a freefall to who knew where, lots and lots of fish circling her, in pain and probably dying… Yeah. Pretty bad. But her only worry was not getting to the Doctor in time, her only friend in this new and strange universe. 

 

Her Flames surged forth, Sun’s yellow bond flaring, and circled the wound while mimicking Reborn’s Sun Flames to mend the damage. It wasn’t fast enough. It was stupid how Fawkes had only cried enough tears to keep the venom in check. She wouldn’t survive this one. Harry’s eyes slipped closed as her Holly wand slipped to her right hand. Muttering a familiar incantation and flicking her wrist she enclosed herself into a safe bubble. The Charm her and the Doctor had perfected just a few days…  _ times _ … ago. 

 

With her momentum it wouldn’t do much to keep her from falling but it would protect her from drowning or slamming to the ground too hard. Besides, the freefall might be much more dangerous what with those stupid piranhas. She could feel blood loss approaching. 

 

Lightheadedness, headache, pounding heart, shivers… Yeah. She’d die. Again. Not pleasant. Oh, the Doctor was going to flip! She was sorry she hadn’t really explained this before. It just… never seemed the time. There wasn’t reason to. He’d die way before her anyway. Everyone always died. Or left. Just when she thought they wouldn’t. 

 

At least her family didn’t leave completely. 

 

And then the bubble hit something and everything went dark. 

 

xXXx

 

When he opened TARDIS’ door he didn’t know what to expect. 

 

It wasn’t a gigantic wet and mossy root with swirling water walls all around it and a small sized clearly stuck spaceship occupying the middle. The place was about a hundred meters in diameter. Which was a little over half as wide as he thought the whirlpool was. There were people, eight Trees of Cheem, waving for him and calling for help and gesturing for him to come down and  _ quickly _ . 

 

The reason was apparent as he took in the shadows inside the whirlpool’s walls. The piranha things. It was a new species for him. Something he hadn’t seen before. Usually that would’ve been interesting and exciting but right now he was worried. About Harriet and about these people. More about Harry.  

 

But if these people were Trees of Cheem, and they were ‘cause he wasn’t wrong, they could feel the pain of plants and they wouldn’t work right in this situation. Now that he looked closer they really looked a bit pained. All of them. 

 

Still he went back inside and guided his beloved ship down before rushing back out. 

 

“What’s going on here!?”, he demanded, “My friend’s still up there fighting those fish!” 

 

Many looked shocked at that proclamation but one male stepped forward. He was clad in dark blue armor plates, accenting his lighter brown skin- er- bark tone. 

 

“We’re stuck here! Going higher than this will make the Shredders jump across the whirlpool and eat us midair!”, he told him. 

 

The Doctor looked up and indeed saw a fish jump through the kilometer tall whirlpool and land on the other side of the swirling water. They must be strong to withstand the current. The current that was currently closing in on them. Pretty fast too. He looked around and his eyes narrowed on the ship. 

 

“What’s causing the whirlpool?”, he asked. 

 

This time a female, quite a young woman from the looks of it, stepped forward, “We’re a research group sent to examine why this planet’s trees are falling apart. The metal minds let us keep the waters at a distance but they’re running out of energy!” 

 

Serious problem. Very serious. Fuel shouldn’t be able to sustain this kind of thing for long, especially in a small ship like that. It must have been put there as an emergency solution and not one to be used this deep in the waters. Only it seemed they had to. Those Shredders were most likely the reason for the state of the planet too. 

 

There was no way they had enough power for more than three minutes. 

 

“How long left?”, he asked worriedly. 

 

“Just two hundred seconds”, a gruffy looking old Cheemian told him. 

 

Not much then. He rushed into the TARDIS, looking for one particular cube he and Harry had been filling with the witch’s magic. It was powerful,  _ very _ powerful. Powerful enough to alter the molecule structures and general universe around them. He shuddered to think about what greedy people would do if they got hold of his friend. Or her blood. 

 

He returned outside with it in hand and demanded, “Show me the power source!” 

 

The Cheemian who had first talked to him started running towards the ship with him but they were stopped by one of the younger trees screaming. Something fell to the ground with nowhere near the speed it  _ should’ve _ had and… popped. Like a bubble. But only Harriet could- 

 

The Doctor’s blood ran cold and his fingers grew lax as he took in his friend’s form, bloodied and pale. She was unconscious and frail looking compared to the strong woman he knew. She looked almost lifeless. Rage almost overtook his mind as he turned to look at the shadows with a furious glare that could scare mountains. He heard the Cheemian inhale in sharp surprise and fear but didn’t care. 

 

“ _ Big _ mistake”, he intoned darkly before worry and fear of losing his friend overtook his mind and he rushed to her side. 

 

He scanned her with the sonic screwdriver and almost flinched at the results. Her left side was brutally cut open even as her magic and whatever-the-second-power-was were healing it. They were too slow. His mind said she wouldn’t survive this. He had to try. 

 

But if he didn’t move now everyone here would be dead. The only place that  _ might _ be safe was the TARDIS. 

 

“Take her to my ship’s medical bay! The first door you come across, put her in the yellow pod”, he had faith the TARDIS would move it there and the hum in his head confirmed that, “I’ll be there as soon as I can”, he barked to the trees who scrambled to obey even as he brushed damp raven-hair from Harriet’s delicate and  _ young _ face. He cursed himself for not going back to her  _ immediately _ . But then all these people would’ve died. 

 

“I’ll be there”, he whispered to Harriet. Or himself. He wasn’t sure yet. 

 

Then he tightened his grip on the cube and rushed back to the sympathetic looking tree that immediately led her to their power source. Distangling his mind from all the guilt and sorrow and burning hot  _ fury _ against Shredders he exhaled and immediately started sonicking things. It only took fifty seconds for the power cube to activate. The cube should hold for twenty-five minutes. 

 

Harry had a lot of power in her. 

 

_ Harry! _

 

He swallowed as the worry and fear tried to drown him and rushed past the Cheemian whose eyes were so wide and amazed they looked like saucers. It took him less than five seconds to get to the medical bay where the trees were just laying Harriet down into the yellow pod. He was with them the next instant and started pushing buttons with rapid succession. 

 

Something beeped. His teeth clenched as he looked down at her friend’s blood level. She’d lost forty-two percent. Four more and she would be- 

 

Refusing to think that thought he got to work with a tube for blood transfusion and shooed the Cheemians away while focusing on closing the wound. He felt anger and guilt rising when he uncovered the torn flesh. Her side was wide open, cut like with a sword. Shredder was definitely an accurate name. 

 

“What are Shredders?”, he asked the six others in the med-bay. His voice sounded like a growl. 

 

“They- They're a territorial species of fish that was gene mutated fifty years ago on Tiwa. No emotions, no hunting instincts… Just the need to do damage. A weapon that couldn't be controlled”, one especially light barked Cheemian answered haltingly, “Our kind had thought them gone” 

 

The Doctor's eyes narrowed at the explanation. Now the weapons were on this beautiful ocean planet. Destroying trees and natural wildlife alike. The whole planet would become nothing more than a mass of water. And they  _ hurt Harry _ . Harry who always checked that others were safe before getting herself out. The woman who teased him and went along with his whims. The girl who was lost in the universe that wasn't her own and had reached for him, asking only for his company. Someone to cling to as she was sent adrift into the new world. His friend who had a sparkling mind full of new ideas and power to shape the world itself. Using that to help everyone they came across. To help  _ him _ with subtle nudges towards living again. Even if she didn't know what had happened. 

 

And now she was badly hurt protecting him. 

 

A storm was brewing behind his eyes and he was going to unleash it on those disgusting abominations. They'd be gone from this planet, from the  _ universe itself _ , if they really were just weapons meant to kill and destroy. 

 

Something beeped again and his eyes widened as he realized her heart had stopped. Frantically pushing the controls he started the artificial RPG and hoped against all hope that it would work. One minute. Two. Her brain waves showed nothing. The TARDIS' constant hum turned mournful. 

 

She was gone. 

 

Instantly he wanted to scream at the universe for taking yet another good friend away. Yet another life for his. Yet another casualty. Another life on his conscience. He scanned her once again and found that her magic and fire were still there but that didn't mean anything. 

 

Harry was gone. 

 

A hand gently landed on his shoulder and his eyes, full of storming emotion, latched onto the young woman who was clearly trying to comfort him. Pulling himself together somewhat he just swallowed and turned to the six of them. Sorrow, guilt, anger, and absolute fury were stirring in his gut, burning him inside out, but he pushed them aside. These people didn't deserve them. 

 

“The power source-”, he choked the word out, remembering Harry's cheerful smile as they completed it, “-doesn’t last more than seventeen minutes. Get everyone inside my TARDIS and I'll get you out” 

 

Five of them nodded, respectfully looking at Harriet's broken body, before hurriedly walking to get the rest of their small crew. The woman still by his side searched his eyes, a soft and sad expression on her face, before she nodded and followed her people. 

 

The Doctor watched them go before turning to Harry. His hands were trembling as he leaned down to cup her lax and cold cheeks. He wished she would open her emerald eyes and tell him that it was okay. That she would be fine. But that was just wishful thinking. 

 

Still he stayed. Waiting for just a little bit longer. For a miracle he knew wouldn't happen. It was impossible. 

 

But Harry loved proving him wrong… Right? 

 

xXXx

 

She once again found herself standing in a white space full of golden lights and barely-there outlines of rocks and trees. It was bright and warm and she let herself sigh before turning to face her family. 

 

“Hello…”, she whispered, tears of bittersweet happiness gathering in her eyes. 

 

Skull, the purple haired happy-go-lucky manage, launched himself to her in a hug and a laugh. 

 

“As happy as I am to see you it doesn't inspire me with much confidence”, Lal told her as she also moved to embrace her. 

 

Harry chuckled, “Hey, this is only the ninth time I've died. That's a big accomplishment if you know what my life is like”

 

Reborn bonked her on the head gently. 

 

“You know what  _ our _ lives were like and we still died only once”, he smirked, looking down at her with his fedora sending shadows over his face. 

 

“Ahahaha! The Great Skull-sama died often too!” 

 

“Technically your Cloud Flames just healed you from normally quite life threatening wounds. You died only once”, Verde drawled, making Skull pout. 

 

“Don't exaggerate things- kora!”, Colonello bonked the Cloud on the head. 

 

“That sounds like you don't”, Viper commented idly to Colonello’s disgruntlement. 

 

Fon just smiled serenely and looked to Harry with amused eyes. She smiled back so wide it hurt. Then she choked on a sob and everyone surrounded her with their comforting Flames. 

 

“I  _ miss _ you  _ so much! _ ”, she gasped out. 

 

“Oi, oi! Don't cry! You know that we're still here and watching, right?”, Lal said with the sort of motherly tone that only emerged with Harry. 

 

She nodded just slightly and Fon joined in to the group hug, motioning for everyone to give her at least a reassuring touch. 

 

“It's not the same. We know. We feel it…”, her Storm said gently, “But you've got a new member of our little family waiting for you” 

 

She laughed a little and found that to be true. Very true. The Doctor now had a place in her heart whether he wanted it or not. She just hoped she didn't scare him too badly. Lights surrounded her and she knew she was waking up again. 

 

Harriet let her Flames out to caress everyone else's, smiling broadly. Her Elements seemed to melt under the attention. 

 

“Love you”, she whispered before disappearing to the waking world. 

 

xXXx

 

The Doctor was aware that he should be going. There were only fifteen minutes left. He brushed his thumb across the too-white-and-gray skin before pinching his eyes shut against tears, a shuddering breath leaving him. Then he stood up and walked towards the door. 

 

Only to stop at the near silent whisper his superior hearing picked up. 

 

“Doc…?” 

 

He wanted to turn around. His ears heard a faint but growing heartbeat that might have been his imagination. There was only one person who would call him Doc despite his wishes and he wanted her to be alive. But he was scared because this was  _ impossible _ . If she was- was like an  _ immortal _ he should  _ feel _ it like an unpleasant itch against his skin. Not this- this warm blanket feel his  _ friend _ gave him. 

 

“I’m so sorry, Doctor. Should’ve told you…”, Harriet’s quiet voice echoed in his mind, “I kind of… can’t die. Permanently. At least not yet” 

 

At this he whirled around and felt relief crash over him like the whirlpool when it inevitably collapsed. His knees felt weak as he took a step forward, taking in the pale face and green eyes. Emerald green that he had  _ missed _ these last few minutes. As much as he missed Gallifrey's burnt orange sky and- 

 

…It was funny. It was strange. But he’d let Harry in and she’d just… slotted into place. Like a long lost part of him he didn’t know he needed. 

 

“Harriet…?”, he whispered like it was the frailest word in existence. 

 

The small smile he got was almost enough to undo all of his tensenesses. 

 

“Yeah… It’s me. I’m sorry” 

 

And he laughed as he rushed to the pod because those eyes were full of worry for  _ him _ and not  _ herself _ which was just so  _ Harry _ . Her smile got wider as she reached up and took his hand. The squeeze felt a bit weaker than he was used to but her side was all healed. Not a mark except for her bloodied clothes. She stood, ripped cloth sagging a little, but she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her out. 

 

They stayed there for a while, the Doctor’s grip around her tightening as he remembered the worry and the rage as he saw Harriet’s broken form. They had to get out of the whirlpool. And then deal with the Shredders so they never hurt anyone else ever again. 

 

“Don’t do that anymore”, he scolded his friend, almost begging but not because Time Lords didn’t beg. 

 

She hummed and it was music to his ears, “No promises. This is only the ninth time it’s happened though. If you even count that one time” 

 

“Ninth?”, he asked, thinking of the coincidence, and started walking towards the console room while carrying her with him. Her feet just dangled off the ground. She was short enough for that, “How old are you again?” 

 

“Sixty-two”, and the Doctor really should’ve considered that her body just didn’t age. Really, he should’ve, “You?” 

 

He paused. There was anxiety in her voice. As if she was afraid of- Oh. She was afraid of living longer than him. Well, no worries there yet. To be fair he didn’t know what this implied. He had been afraid of that too. What a dumb secret to keep from each other. 

 

“Me? Around nine hundred, give or take. Time Lords can live millions, if not billions, of years if there’s no bigger accidents” 

 

She froze in shock. Then relaxed against him in relief. A chuckle escaped her. 

 

“We’re idiots sometimes”, she commented. 

 

“Oi! I resemble that!” 

 

“That you do, Doc” 

 

And he’d never liked hearing that nickname more. 

 

xXXx

 

Harry and the Doctor didn’t want to go out of grabbing distance from each other. It was understandable after the scare each of them had had. First Harry worrying about the TARDIS and the Doctor enough to throw herself at a  _ shoal _ of what amounted to biological weapons. Then the Doctor seeing her  _ die _ even as he tried to save her. 

 

So now they were both at the TARDIS’ controls in orbit around the planet and talking to the Trees of Cheem. Or well, making a plan to save the planet. 

 

“So those Shredders are based on piranha from Earth?”, the Doctor asked, fiddling with a switch. 

 

“That is correct”, agreed Leah, the young female tree with lighter bark color. 

 

“I don't know the subject as well as our historian but I heard they also have eubrue cells in them. To make their scales harder and resistant to energy”, the somewhat-mechanic Chad told them. Though he still called computers metal minds. 

 

“Definitely resistant to energy”, Harriet whispered only for the Doctor's ears and he grabbed her hand to reassure himself that she was still there. 

 

“Doctor, they are destroying the trees! They need to be stopped”, another male, Eloh, pleaded. 

 

All of their tree companions could feel the plants’ pain even if it was weakened from so far away. They also had dampeners for it. His eyes darkened as he pulled out the scanners, the storm that had been brewing flashing in his eyes again. 

 

“Oh, they will be. I’ll stop them”, he stated darkly, like a promise, and Harry felt a wave of affection for him. He’d clearly been very worried and angry on her behalf. The Cheemians’ too. 

 

And now that they’d found out they were destroying the  _ planet _ it was even more so their business. Whoever put the weapons on Ark Molube should face consequences. Not that they’d found proof of who that was. It could be an accident too, however unlikely. 

 

Biological weapons. Life forms  _ created _ to be weapons. She felt a bit ill at the thought. 

 

“I don’t even know if it would be genocide or not to destroy them…”, Harry admitted quietly, “After all, I saw them and their eyes. It was like they were empty. Harmony didn’t work on them” 

 

The Doctor’s hand around hers tightened. There were always hard decisions. He hated hard decisions that had to be done. They were killing life to save other lives. It was a raw wound and one he didn’t like to be reminded of. He took a deep breath and turned to Harry. 

 

“Can you make a rune circle? One that projects that petrifying curse on a large area?”, he asked. 

 

She nibbled on her bottom lip, mind whirling through the possible time-frame, the enormous size of the area, her magic and how much she could push it and her Flames after dying… 

 

“I can make it cover twenty kilometers at  _ maximum _ in an hour. That is if I find the base for it from my notes and some special ingredients for a ritual”, she said, “It’ll be unmovable and I have to do it exactly where we want it” 

 

The Doctor smiled that manic smile she knew meant he had a brilliantly crazy idea, “Fantastic! Remember the Statue of Liberty?” 

 

She knew it. Brilliantly crazy. If she could cover  _ twenty kilometers _ and they  _ amplified _ that… They’d petrify almost every fish in the water. They were lucky the planet was pretty small sized. Like, the size of the Moon maybe. At this point, she knew the Doctor well enough that he wouldn’t have suggested it if he didn’t know every friendlier species would survive. That is if something didn’t go wrong. 

 

“How do we recognize what lifeform is what?” 

 

“Let me and TARDIS worry about that. We’ve got scanners  _ and _ a sample of DNA. Only good thing in you-”, he couldn’t say it, not yet, “...getting hurt” 

 

She smiled reassuringly, squeezing his hand back. 

 

“I’ll get the portable wards. They can be pretty easily modified to withstand water. Just land us in a space-y spot? Preferably on a root?” 

 

He smiled faintly, “Will do” 

 

And they were off, though not liking having to separate so soon. Their conversation left behind eight very befuddled trees. 

 

xXXx

 

With the rune circle completed and wards in place, they were effectively standing in a bubble of air under the ocean. At the center of the planet Ark Molube. The shields kept any unwelcome visitors out thought they circled them furiously, sharp triangular teeth gleaming. Harriet had transfigured the root into marble, startling all of the trees behind her. Surprisingly it didn’t hurt them and Harry felt ashamed for not checking first. 

 

She was just thankful it didn’t cause pain. 

 

But now the circle was completed, in an hour and ten minutes, and she and the Doctor went about securing the amplifier that ran with a tiny bit of magic and Flames amongst the electricity. And psionic energy. Yeah, they’d kinda tried to combine everything and it  _ worked _ . Also the  _ other _ cube Harry had been filling with her magic. 

 

Then they went back a few steps, triple checking everything, before nodding in satisfaction. 

 

They activated it. 

 

Everyone gasped at the surge of power that expanded and  _ expanded _ from it. Harry felt a shiver at the potency of it even as the Doctor felt the pleasant shift in time it produced. He still marveled at that.  _ Magic _ and  _ science _ working together. He thought he’d never see the day. 

 

Harry liked pulling off the impossible. And he liked travel because he came across impossible. 

 

It worked out. Surprisingly well. 

 

Everyone watched in slightly fearful fascination as every Shredder seemed to…  _ freeze _ and slightly float in the water without moving a muscle. Their black eyes were still as empty as before. As if they really had no other purpose than destroy. The Doctor knew then and there that they were doing the right thing by getting rid of them. 

 

He ushered everyone except Harry into the TARDIS and started working on the scanners. It would take about twenty minutes to get the range to the whole planet to a whole  _ species _ . That was only possible because every single life form was perfectly still. His witch friend should be ready by then too. The blanketed  _ Petrificus Totalus _ would last for half an hour so they had time. 

 

Harry worked on another rune circle even as she silently powered the other one. She would be so tired and sick after this. But it would be worth saving the planet. This one would be an amplified blanket effect version of the blasting curse with a  _ selected target _ because apparently Time Lord technology could do that. She was amazed and a bit terrified of what she and the Doctor could do together with the whole of space and time at their fingertips. 

 

Twenty minutes later she was ready but winded, sweat gathering on her forehead from dying, coming back to life, and then creating and powering  _ two _ of  _ the _ most powerful rune circles she’d ever created. And she’d created pretty powerful ones. She was very lucky her magic and Flame cores were so large. 

 

And to think she complained about that from time to time. 

 

“Harry?”, a concerned voice asked him and she lifted bleary eyes to the Doctor. 

 

She tried to smile, “It’s ready… I’ll sleep like a log maybe a week straight afterwards but this is so worth it” 

 

The Doctor swallowed and let her lean against him as he half-guided half-carried her to the edge of the circle. He clearly didn’t like this and was blaming himself for putting her under so much strain after literally  _ dying _ . Harriet would have none of it and poked him with her elbow weakly. Her smile was only slightly strained and completely genuine as his eyes moved to hers. 

 

“I’ll be fine. And I  _ want _ to do this. You come up with the craziest and most brilliant plans in history, ya know?” 

 

He still had that slightly shadowed look in his eyes as he searched her expression for falsehood but he nodded with a small smirk forming on his lips. 

 

“Well, let’s put this one into action now” 

 

Harriet nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate. She linked the two circle’s powers together and suddenly guided almost all power from the petrification circle to the blast circle. Focusing on the target in her mind she let the circle take almost all of her magic as she mixed Flames in it too for good measure. Her bonds were helping her slightly under the strain, especially the Rain, Cloud, and Sun ones. Tranquility, Propagation, and Activation. Good combo for this. 

 

Then she let the circle activate. 

 

This time the power released was thrice as potent as in the last and it knocked everyone to the ground even as it blasted each and every Shredder out into the planet’s orbit, freezing them as they came to contact with space. 

 

Harriet almost fell unconscious then and there from the strain. That release of power… she hadn’t even known she was  _ capable _ of something like that. It kind of terrified her. But the Doctor was moving as he grabbed the wards, the cube, and picked her off the ground bridal style. Any other time Harry might or might not have protested. 

 

Right now she was just glad she didn’t have to deal with these kinds of situations alone like in her twenties and teens and after she kind of lost her Elements. 

 

The Doctor gently set her down on the jump seat in the TARDIS and started piloting the ship back into space. Harry welcomed the familiar shaking as she struggled to stay awake for a little bit longer. The TARDIS’ humming almost put her to sleep though. She pushed the complete and utter tiredness and her pounding head to the back of her mind (mental arts were  _ really _ handy) and looked out the doors that the Doctor opened. Everyone gasped at the incredibly ridiculous sight of Shredders floating in space, utterly frozen. She struggled to see it over the Cheemians’ tall heads. 

 

“Lemme see…”, she murmured so quietly only the Doctor heard. He quickly rushed to her, grinning from ear to ear, and picked her up again. This might be the first day she had  _ ever _ gotten carried by him. Much less three times in a row. 

 

It was kind of nice. 

 

The sight was truly amazing. There, surrounding the planet, were dozens and dozens of Shredders. It looked quite comical and she huffed out a weak laugh. 

 

“They won’t hurt anyone ‘gain, that’s for sure”, she slurred. 

 

The Trees of Cheem looked to her with awe, respect, and slight fear in their eyes. Just like she saw her deed. Good. Oh, she was so sleepy and her head was  _ killing  _ her. Luckily not literally but she would believe them if someone said it would. Harry’s eyes slipped shut and her body went completely lax in the Doctor’s hold. She still heard the quiet conversation though would later think it might have been a dream. 

 

“What are we supposed to  _ do _ with them?”, Chad asked, probably to himself. 

 

“Dunno. Are they edible?”, the Doctor asked back. 

 

“They  _ should _ be. At least I’ve heard rumors”, Leah commented. 

 

“Well then. Make a fish market. I’ll take Harriet to med-bay to recover and then I’ll drop you off. Where do you want to go?” 

 

“O- Oh. Cheem, of course”, Cleafy said, as if just snapping out of a trance. 

 

“So many Shredders.  _ How _ did we  _ survive!? _ ” 

 

The Doctor’s grip on her tightened, “Just thank Harry”, already walking towards someplace else. 

 

“She’s an incredible girl, isn’t she?” 

 

“Very powerful. Almost  _ too _ powerful”, Eloh said, respect and awe coloring his voice. 

 

“Either way we’re very lucky you two came. Thank y-“

 

And then she lost consciousness for the second time that day. 

 

xXXx

 

The Doctor was bored, worried, and tinkering with anything he got his hands on. 

 

It had been a week and two days according to his estimates… Time. In the TARDIS. He’d ‘forgotten’ to keep track of it and was almost afraid to check it with his senses. But he was pretty sure Harry should have woken up by now. Her magic had been so  _ depleted _ , as had her…  _ Flames _ she called them. It had scared him how weak that stunt had left her, even with the cube taking at least half of the strain off of her. 

 

A week and two days. Her… magical core?…had only about a fourth of the amount she’d used to have before. It was still filling up, thankfully. Too slowly in his opinion. 

 

She stirred and the Doctor immediately threw the microcompartment circuit over his shoulder and leaned over. Blue eyes checked her, searching for any discomfort, and snapped to her face the moment her eyelids fluttered open. She shut them right against a headache and the TARDIS immediately decreased the lighting. The Doctor didn't mind with his superior Time Lord senses. 

 

“Harry…?”, he whispered, reaching for the fresh glass of water he had filled again every twelve hours or so. 

 

This time her eyes opened much more cautiously, looking over the ceiling before settling on him. They blinked away blurriness before the smallest of smiles spread on her lips. She opened her mouth to say something but it evolved into a cough. He helped her up a little and brought the glass up to her. She eagerly gulped down most of it, letting out a relieved and content sigh. 

 

“Thanks”, she croaked out. 

 

“No problem. How do you feel?” 

 

She let out a low chuckle, “Like I've been out for a week” 

 

He nodded, “A week and two days” 

 

She sat up slowly with the Doctor's help and drank the rest of the water too. They were quiet for a moment. 

 

“So”, she started, “What happened after we saw the iced fish floating in space?” 

 

And the Doctor easily launched into the story of how he'd brought the Trees of Cheem home. They had been very surprised the trip took only ten seconds. Said to thank her when she woke up. Then Harriet asked what happened to the Shredders. 

 

The Doctor's eyes twinkled mischievously, “It's forever been a mystery where the fish markets got so much fish for twenty years straight” 

 

Harry burst out laughing. It was infectious and the Doctor joined in. It released the tension in his shoulders, the one he’d had ever since he realized what powering  _ two _ of those monstrous magic circles did to Harry. She flopped to her side on the bed, still giggling and grinned up at him. 

 

“I've had many, many ridiculous things happen to me”, she started, “But this is definitely in the top ten!” 

 

The Doctor agreed with that. There were still things to discuss. Like Harry's immortality thing. And maybe his… regeneration. But that could come later. Now it was more important to get Harry back to 100%. 

 

Immortality that  _ didn't _ involve him cringing away. 

 

Harry was definitely an interesting one. 

 

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt a sliver of hope. One he tried to squash. Because everyone  _ always _ left him in the end. 

 

But… Harry  _ loved _ proving him wrong… Maybe. Just  _ maybe _ … 

 

He took a deep breath and pursed his lips together. Somehow he now had that stupid hope clinging to him. Even after the entire week he'd tried to get rid of it. 

 

Harry watched the war in the Doctor's eyes. A familiar one she still struggled with. 

 

She sighed. 

 

“You know…”, she started, swallowing, “I lost my family too” 

 

The Doctor’s eyes snapped to her, startled and confused. She smiled bittersweetly. 

 

“I recognize that look. See it in the mirror all the time”, she told him. She paused and wondered where to start. Her teens or the times after. The large family she’d made for herself and lost through the years. 

 

“There was a war”, she said and now the Doctor flinched and stiffened. Oh.  _ Oh _ . He’d been in a war too. What  _ more _ did they have in common? She still continued, “Against a megalomaniacal wizard that styled himself as the Dark Lord Voldemort. My parents fought in it and then I was born at the end of July, 1980. The child of  _ prophecy _ ”, she spat the word out, “The one destined to kill him or die trying” 

 

Her friend listened with a stiff posture, eyes narrowed in sympathy and horror as he listened how Harry was raised by relatives who wanted nothing to do with her and then got sent to a school where she was manipulated into becoming the perfect little martyr. How she was a weapon first and a child second, even if she didn’t know it until she turned seventeen and saw what her mentor had known. That she was a horcrux. 

 

Dumbledore had planned it all. Her upbringing, how she would face Voldemort again at eleven, the basilisk that’s venom still ran through her veins, her getting taught by her parents’ old friend, forcing her to attend a deadly tournament… Thought that was most likely just coincidence. More experience for Dumbledore’s perfect little weapon. Even how she would gather all the Hallows that could give her a chance to live to kill the Dark Lord. 

 

She told him how she had  _ wanted _ to die because her friends… her family…  _ everyone _ was dead. 

 

And now she couldn’t. Not until Death let her. 

 

The Doctor gritted his teeth in anger. If Dumbledore had been alive and in this universe he’d have gone to give him a  _ big _ piece of his mind… This was how Harry had been raised. As a  _ child soldier _ . One that was supposed to  _ martyr _ herself for her people. People who had alternated between calling her savior and outright making her a scapegoat. 

 

She’d sacrificed  _ everything _ and then she’d been nailed as the next rising Dark Lady, the Undesirable Number One. The nineteen-year-old who was hunted down because the ministry was afraid of her power. She hadn’t elaborated beyond that, only that she’d gotten involved with the Mafia and Flames straight after. Where she’d met her new family members, the Arcobaleno. The ones who were now also gone because of a bloody trap made for the Vongola, one they had to escape by martyring themselves for the younger generation  _ again _ . 

 

Then she was summoned. Because Hallows had made her the Mistress of Death. 

 

“But… I think it wasn’t really that. I was depressed. I was only living in the loss of my family. So Death probably  _ made _ it so I got here, a fresh start of sorts…”, she told him, voice a bit hoarse from all the talking and emotion. Then she smiled at him, emerald eyes sparkling with affection, “I’m glad it chose to do that. It gave me my newest family member” 

 

It took a second to realize Harriet was talking about  _ him _ . The Doctor felt his chest tighten, his twin hearts beating a bit faster, as he tried to understand what that meant. 

 

Harry saw him as…  _ family _ . 

 

She saw him as a part of her mismatched family, the last living member of it by her count. One who would live far longer than anyone she’d met before. Which meant… He wanted to believe she’d never leave, that they’d never get separated. But he knew that was an empty promise. The universe had so many unknown powers in it. 

 

Granted, Harriet was probably one of the most powerful beings in the universe. He was glad she was a good person. Very glad. A smile spread on his lips and he rose to join Harry on the bed, tugging her into a hug she returned just as tightly as him. She would have a place in his chosen family too. The newest member in the long line of friends and companions. All of which were now gone from his life. But she would be a part of his. As long as she wanted it. 

 

“So, Harriet Potter”, he said after a moment, “Are you my impossible sister, cousin or niece?” 

 

She let out a short laugh, full of affection. 

 

“Let’s just stop at family, 'kay? That's how I've always done it” 

 

He grinned. Sounded nice. He loved how uncomplicated their relationship was. He just hoped it stayed that way. For a long, long time. 

 

xXXx

  
  



	5. Moping Around While Time Traveling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just Harry talking about her experiences with time. Then the duo having a bad day. Before it isn't bad anymore.

 

“Doctor?” 

 

He looked up from the console to see Harriet sitting on the jump seat, a small pile of books next to her. They were all about time in one form or the other. Somehow he could guess where this conversation would be going. 

 

“I think I’ve been in a self-fulfilling paradox” 

 

Aaaand nope. He had no idea where this conversation was going. He somehow found it as fascinating and fun as he found it annoying. Harry just  _ refused _ to let things go in their normal curve. 

 

Someone who wanted to know more about time travel? Almost a ritual. Someone who had already experienced time travel before meeting him? Happened rarely. But it happened. A time travel including paradox in another universe he had been  _ pretty _ sure didn’t have such a thing? And his friend being a part of it? Unheard of. 

 

Well, first time for everything. 

 

“Oh?”, he said, interest peaked. 

 

“Yeah. It was in my third year at Hogwarts. Remember my Godfather?” 

 

Yes, of course he remembered her telling him about the notorious criminal that was named after a star. Who wasn’t actually a criminal at all but was just framed as such. The one who didn’t even get a trial and escaped an inescapable prison, then proceeding to scare the living daylights out of everyone because they thought he was going after Harry. But he only gave her the fastest broom in the markets as a present. She hadn’t said anything more about him, except that he died in her fifth year. 

 

Harry’s life was strange. 

 

“What about him?” 

 

“Well, my friend Hermione had this Time Turner hourglass thing”, she said and the Doctor marveled at the Wizarding World’s naming sense, “She’d been using it to take classes that happened at the same time. Was told not to be seen by anyone, especially herself”, he decided Wizarding World was also completely  _ insane _ . The mess of temporal things that could’ve gone wrong every week if not every  _ day _ … 

 

Harriet continued her story. 

 

“So when we found out my Godfather was going to get executed even though he was innocent we went three hours back in time to free a hippogriff that had mysteriously escaped earlier that day. Then there were the dementors that were attacking us. I realized I could cast a corporeal Patronus Charm because then I knew I had seen _ myself  _ cast it. After that we rode Buckbeak, the hippogriff, to save my Godfather and then  _ they _ rode away to freedom. Then the loop was over and we went back to the hospital wing we’d disappeared from earlier” 

 

Okay, remember when he said Harry’s life was strange? Switch that to utterly nuts. Time travel without a capsule at thirteen-years-old without knowing almost anything about rules of time travel, except don’t be seen by yourself which is a pretty good rule. A rule that she actually  _ broke _ … That all was on another scale of insanity by time travel standards.  _ He _ could bend some rules ‘cause he had experience and could  _ tell _ those things as a Time Lord. But a  _ thirteen-year-old _ Harry… 

 

But yes. It sounded like a self-fulfilling paradox, wherever she’d gotten the term from. 

 

“Yeah… It  _ was _ a paradox”, he said slowly, still somewhat in shock, “Do you have  _ any _ idea how many things could’ve gone wrong?” 

 

Her smile was amused. 

 

“I do  _ now _ . These theories are fascinating. And I know for sure that there are fixed points, according to your ramblings”, she said, flipping a page, “As for this, it tells me that time isn’t linear and can be rewritten. We could have accidentally done just that, changed circumstances just a bit and suddenly someone died that didn’t. Or something. In some cases time can get  _ un _ written too… Paradoxes are the places that are most dangerous to the continuity of the universe. So. Whoops” 

 

Now the Doctor was amused too. She had done her reading. Probably discarding multiple ideas due to her experiences and his own ramblings. 

 

“Well”, he said as he straightened a few things up at the TARDIS console, “Any other strange experiences with time?” 

 

She made a thoughtful noise, cocking her head. 

 

“There  _ was _ this thing where someone in a parallel future made it so Lambo’s Ten-Year Bazooka shot Reborn, me, and the Vongola Tenth Generation… We had to stop Byakuran ten years in the future. A future that never happened now… Good thing too. My family’s other selves had died sometime earlier in that timeline because of extreme radiation around the globe concentrated on their pacifiers” 

 

The Doctor stared. Forget utterly nuts. Languages didn’t have enough words to describe how insanely ridiculous her life was. 

 

xXXx

 

It was one of Those Days. 

 

Harry had woken up from another nightmare about the battle. The second gigantic sacrifice she had made, letting her Elements and herself go to their doom. She knew she would come out unscatched. No, not unscatched but with a deep wound going straight to her soul. One she wasn’t sure would ever heal. She  _ still _ wasn’t, especially now, even though it had started closing since she’d been thrown here. 

 

Her bonds were radiating comfort and assurances that they had  _ wanted to be there _ . It didn’t help as much as usual. She was drowning in guilt and toxic thoughts. She knew she shouldn’t wallow in them like several months ago in her own universe… Harriet couldn’t help it though. She had always been the leader in situations, though not by choice. Everyone looked to her for answers and she had to have them. 

 

Decisions laid on her. 

 

If things went badly it was her fault. 

 

That’s what she’d been taught from age one. It had only been in her thirties when she’d recognized that. Those beliefs had only been enforced by Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. All of its shifting views of her… Even Ron’s loyalty had swayed once or twice. Maybe that’s why Hermione had been her bestest friend, her favorite family member. The bright girl who had believed in her since she and Ron had saved her from a mountain troll. 

 

Her feet trudged on the TARDIS’ corridors, eyes unseeing and mind unfocused. She just  _ walked _ . It was surprisingly like running away. This only moving forward because you’d forgotten how to stop. She wondered if the Doctor did it too… 

 

She turned a corner and found herself face to face with the ‘living room’. A space with comfortable couches, a TV, a futuristic hologram video player, and other interesting and comfy stuff. On the other side of the room she saw the Doctor, usually bright eyes steely and shadowed. It was eerily like looking in a mirror. 

 

They stared at each other for a second before the Doctor turned sharply and walked away. Harry did the same a second later, wanting to be alone and not face anyone. Especially someone who had eyes like hers. Dark and shadowed by guilt, doubt, and never ending grief. 

 

So she walked again in the corridors, barely noticing TARDIS’ concerned and comforting song at the back of her mind. Her feet took her to the library. The library where the Doctor was staring at a bookshelf with those same eyes. She frowned and he turned to her, scowling when he saw her standing in the doorway. He closed his eyes and stalked away from the room. 

 

It hurt a little to be rejected just like that. Even though she felt like she was living in a continuous state of self-blame. She scowled at his retreating back before turning and going in the opposite direction. Fine then. If he wanted to avoid her, so would she. 

 

They found themselves staring at each other across a different corridor. Both scowled. 

 

“Stop  _ following _ me!”, the Doctor ground out before continuing. 

 

Harriet bristled at the implication, turning around to where she had come from and running through with a spark of anger in her mind. It wasn’t  _ her _ fault he kept going where  _ she _ went! She stomped to the kitchen, maybe to find something to eat, but her heart wasn’t in it as she looked through the cabinets and fridge. She picked out a packet of cookies before putting them back. She wasn’t hungry. 

 

A frustrated noise came from behind her and she whipped her head around to glare at the Doctor. 

 

“Leave me  _ be! _ ”, she snapped before hurrying past him and outright  _ sprinting _ away from him. 

 

“ _ You’re _ the one turning up where  _ I _ go!”, she heard him retort but she ignored it. 

 

Twice more they ran into each other in another room or place before finding themselves slightly out of breath at a pool. Harriet hadn’t known there  _ was _ a pool inside the TARDIS. They were both scowling heavily. It was like children, the witch thought. They were both acting like children but didn’t know how to stop. 

 

“ _ Stop it _ , Harriet! Just- go  _ away! _ ”, he shouted in frustration, swiping a hand in front of him to empathize it. 

 

Her temper flared and the Elder wand was suddenly in her left hand, “ _ Aguamenti! _ ” 

 

The jet of water shot out of her wand and hit the Doctor’s shoulder. He had managed to dodge a precise shot to the chest. Unfortunately for him the spell splashed all over his leather jacket  _ anyway _ . Some of it was dripping off his face. His eyes flashed as he took out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at some buttons. 

 

Harry could have dodged. Really. But she trusted him too much and was too angry and guilt-ridden to do so. 

 

That was her excuse and she was sticking to it. 

 

The floor  _ flipped _ her into the pool. And she let out a surprised squeak, wand snapping back into its holster as she hit the water. 

 

A dripping wet Harriet emerged from the pool and shot her offender a glare. The Doctor answered in kind, though it had an underlying hint of amusement. She thought of what they’d been up to before and what had led to this situation. She couldn’t help but see it too. They stared at each other, glares melting into painfully kept straight faces, before they burst out in laughter. 

 

It was freeing. Funny. Laughter chased the monsters of the mind away like nothing else. 

 

Then they looked at each other, seeing the darker glint gone, and turned to look at their wet clothes. 

 

“That’s a new one”, the Doctor said, “Shot by a jet of water in my own TARDIS” 

 

Harry hummed in agreement, “I’ve never been flipped to a pool by the  _ floor _ of all things” 

 

They stayed quiet for a moment before Harry gave a suspicious glance at the ceiling. The TARDIS hummed innocently. She didn’t believe it for a minute. 

 

“It was her, wasn’t it? She didn’t want us to be alone…” 

 

The Doctor too looked up and frowned, “I just thought you two were ganging up on me. You tend to do that” 

 

Harriet chuckled, “Nah. That’s just for mealtimes and you tinkering too much with things that don’t need fixing” 

 

“They  _ do! _ ” 

 

“Says who?” 

 

“Says me!” 

 

Both stopped at the familiar banter, staring at each other for a long while before Harry just cast a Drying Charm and stepped up to hug her last and newest family member. Again, he stiffened for a second before relaxing and hugging back. They stayed like that for a while. 

 

“…How ‘bout we get some tea and talk?”, Harry suggested. 

 

The Doctor clearly wasn’t a fan of the plan. But he supposed he owed her that much. TARDIS, of course, approved. And so they moved to the kitchen and brewed two cups. Harry did most of the work. Then they sat down and nursed their drinks. Harry was the one to start once again. 

 

“I… s’ppose it started with the Dursleys telling me that everything that went wrong was  _ my _ fault”, she began. 

 

It started with her talking about more simple failures and then up to her telling the Doctor about everyone she had failed to save. Failed to protect even though they’d looked to her for protection. Her gaining family and losing them time and time again. The self-blame. The guilt that always followed when her decision met a bad end. How she still struggled to  _ accept _ that some of it actually wasn’t her fault at all. That many parties were to blame or there simply wasn’t anything anyone could’ve done. 

 

When she stopped she had cried a tear or two. But it had been freeing. There had only been two people she had talked about this. One was Hermione. Another was Lal. The ex-soldier had understood well what she felt she lost men. 

 

And now the Doctor. 

 

She trusted him with more than her life, it seemed. This was actually much more precious to her than her life. She could just come back if she died after all. 

 

The Doctor listened. He understood. He understood intimately what Harry felt time and time again. He himself felt it every time something went wrong, when his plans didn’t quite work out. When old companions and friends,  _ his _ makeshift family, left him in the end or died because he wasn’t good enough. Wasn’t fast enough. 

 

How he blamed himself for letting Harriet die once. 

 

She deserved to know. So he told her. Of all the amazing people he had met and then lost. His granddaughter who he hadn’t even checked upon, who was most likely dead. Of Gallifrey. He had never thought he’d  _ ever _ tell anyone about Gallifrey. But here he was, telling her that he was the  _ last _ of his people. That there was a Time War that lasted four hundred years. That everyone had lost. 

 

He couldn’t bring himself to tell her it was because of  _ him _ . That he had pressed the  _ button _ that destroyed everyone and everything. His own  _ home planet _ . His own people. The Daleks. 

 

Harry seemed to understand anyway. He knew she wouldn’t, she  _ couldn’t _ . If she knew what kind of monster she had invited into her little family she’d leave. He knew that. So he kept it to himself, not willing to let her go yet. To let her go  _ ever _ . 

 

Selfish. He was selfish. But he wanted to keep this last spark of life with him as long as he could. 

 

After that it was silent. Their half drunk teas had gone cold and only sat at the table. Both contemplated what they’d heard and what they’d revealed. It still felt bad, but it was lighter. The guilt lifted just a little. The feeling that they  _ weren’t alone _ was right there. A warm light in the darkness. 

 

Harriet was ready to move. She smiled. A warm and gentle smile that sent a fuzzy feeling in the Doctor’s very bones. 

 

“Enough moping”, she said to herself and to him equally, “We should watch a movie. Do you know any good ones?” 

 

He grinned, a slightly freer grin than before he had shed light to his past, and stood up in one fluid movement. 

 

“Do I  _ know _ any good movies? Try  _ every _ movie in  _ human history _ ! Have you ever seen  _ Inception _ ? Or  _ Wall-E _ ?”, he knew he was exaggerating but it got the point across. 

 

To his astonishment, Harry’s face remained blank. No recognition whatsoever. She raised an amused eyebrow, lips twitching. 

 

“From a parallel universe, remember?” 

 

And thus the Doctor started introducing Harriet to the wonders of Pixar, Disney, and other film companies. Some in the future and some from other galaxies. She enjoyed hearing him pick science fiction apart and added her own two cents whenever magic stuff came along. Or superpowers in general. 

 

All in all, it was a nice if slightly more boring and normal time in the TARDIS. 

 

The doctor of practically everything, the witch from another reality, and the sentient time machine all together. Like it should be. Whoever came up with this insanity was clearly a little loopy themselves. 

 

xXXx


	6. Of Anniversary Bombs and Icy Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's been in her new universe for about a year.

 

A year. Harry had been with him about a year…

 

Well, a little less. Because if he got it right, today was her sixty-third birthday. He had checked about a month ago that she had been summoned on 14th August 2042. History in her world went a _lot_ differently from 2006 onwards. Mainly because there were no aliens. Recorded ones at least. Mythical creatures were the thing there.

 

Yeah, they’d compared notes once or twice.

 

But anyway. Today was Harriet's birthday. Human’s celebrated birthdays, right? At least they cared about age more than Time Lords did… And he knew Harry was having trouble tracking time inside the TARDIS like all of the humans he had traveled with. She had tried to use a spell called _Tempus_ in the Vortex. Apparently, it was supposed to tell the time (“We can’t _all_ have a natural time sense, can we?”, Harry had commented).

 

Harry thought it had gone haywire because it had looked like twisting smoke and tendrils instead of the clock or numbers it was _supposed_ to. The Doctor had just stared because he could _feel_ time twisting with the smoke, tendrils, and the web of stuff. In the Vortex, the spell showed time. _Literally_. It was incredible. Brilliant even. But not very useful except maybe if someone who wasn’t a Time Lord tried piloting the TARDIS.

 

That had been a strange thought and he was a bit scared that he hadn’t immediately dismissed the idea of teaching her sometime.

 

He was getting sidetracked. Today was Harry’s birthday so he would do something special. What did she like? Hmm… Flying with that broom of hers. Adrenaline rushes. Learning. Reading and experimenting with new stuff. New stuff in general.

 

Oh… There was an idea!

 

“Harry!”, he called out into the TARDIS’ corridors, “Come here!”  

 

There was a sound of something crashing that he pointedly didn’t think about as well as the sound of her near-silent footfalls. She rushed into the console room, a worried look on her face.

 

“What happened? Are we going somewhere?”

 

He gave her a cheeky grin, “Happy birthday!”

 

It was very satisfying to watch her eyes widen and her mouth go slightly slack. She wasn’t surprised often. Then her expression turned from shocked to slightly sad and wistful. Maybe also a little guilty. He frowned. That wasn’t what he wanted. Why was she- Oh.

 

Oh. This was the first birthday out of her own universe. And she had ignored the fact that time went by even in a time machine. That her universe was going on without her and _she_ went on without her universe. Guilt about the fact she was _managing_ , that she was _happy_ , out of her homeworld.

 

He recognized it from the moments he spent thinking about Gallifrey. Of all the lives he had ended and thought what right he had to be happy at all. Exhaling softly he went over to his friend and placed hands on her shoulders. She looked up, clearly feeling lost. His eyes conveyed understanding and sympathy.

 

They stayed like that for a moment before Harry brought a hand up to cover his, a small smile tugging at her mouth. It was a clear thank you.

 

“So I’m sixty-three now”, she stated, “How’d you figure?”

 

The Doctor grinned, releasing her, “Time Lord”

 

She rolled her eyes. Figures. Still, she was smiling.

 

“What have you got planned, Doc?”

 

Her friend mock-scowled at the nickname before turning to the console and flipping switches. He almost danced while operating his TARDIS. Harry watched on fondly.

 

“Have you ever tried street racing?”, he asked with a wide grin.

 

She shook her head, “Broom racing only. But I _do_ know how to drive”

 

His grin didn’t let up an inch, “Think about mountains. A range that has many different sized and shaped rocks. Some that float because of gravity altering. An obstacle course like that”, he pushed down a lever, “And then think of a flying race car”

 

Harry’s eyes were sparkling as the TARDIS moved. A race. With _flying_ cars. Oh, that sounded like her thing. She held onto the railing, the room shaking violently before stopping with the familiar wheezing sounds.

 

“Well, they’re not really _cars_. More like mini spaceships that only fly on-planet”, the Doctor clarified as he parked the time machine.

 

Then he moved towards the doors and opened them to a view of tall, different colored mountains that twisted almost unnaturally into all kinds of different shapes. Harry gasped in awe as she stepped out. There was a hangar almost right next to them, presumably for loaning the flying race car things, and her head whipped around as the supposed racing vehicles flew overhead, all brightly colored with a sharp metallic tinge. The girl turned to the Doctor with a wide grin of her own.

 

“I’m going to learn how to fly those things?”

 

“They’re called rechoes”, he turned to her with a smirk, “And yes. I’m going to teach you”

 

Without warning, she jumped up to hug him. The Doctor was momentarily surprised before hugging back. It was a brief hug and she immediately stepped back to grin at him.

 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”, she repeated, almost hopping in place excitedly, “Race you to that hangar thingy”

 

The Doctor was about to protest as she rushed off at… not nearly at full speed. He had _seen_ her move full speed with those Flames of hers and that was _supernatural speeds_ for a human. And almost all other living creatures he'd seen. She also threw her hair up in its signature curly-messy ponytail that left her bangs at the sides. Every time she needed them not-in-the-way she did that. Huffing out a short laugh he locked the TARDIS before running after her. Honestly, he hadn’t anticipated _that_ much enthusiasm. It was nice though. He’d chosen this birthday trip correctly.

 

And he was also looking forward to flying a recho himself. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure them out.

 

(Harry would later just shake her head at him in amazement as he admitted to never seeing one of the things before and _still_ managing to teach her how to fly one. The Doctor would just watch her perform death-defying stunts through and around the mountains and muttered that _of course_ she would be a natural flier. They had an amazing day with no trouble, surprisingly. It _had_ been quite a while since they last needed to save the universe or something…)

 

xXXx

 

Harry lounged on the jump seat and watched the Doctor take things apart and put them back together for the _third_ time in an hour. He was bored. He was definitely bored. She knew the feeling. Her eyes skimmed over the book that was on her lap but the words didn’t register. A good sign of utter dullness. So why weren’t they doing anything?

 

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake, _please_ let’s just go somewhere!”, she pleaded, flopping sideways on the seat, “We’re _both_ bored”

 

The Doctor looked to her in surprise.

 

“I thought you were reading”

 

She stared at him, “I was waiting for you to stop fixing stuff that doesn’t need fixing!”

 

“I was waiting for you to finish your book!”

 

A moment of silence. Then they just laughed and prepared for travel. Which was basically just setting the coordinates and making sure they had the sonic screwdriver and Harry had her pouch of emergency stuff. Like some potions, a portable swamp, and some tools for fixing or building things she couldn’t with a wand. For example, anything electronic. Plus she had her mini cauldron and the included ingredients.

 

The handbag itself was Hermione’s. The one they had used while on the run.

 

“Where to, Doctor?”, she asked, fastening the pouch on her dragon scale belt.

 

Nowadays her normal attire included form-fitting flexible but durable pants, jean shorts for the belt, combat boots, an ‘armor tank top’ that was charmed unbreakable, her necklace with her broom and TARDIS key, and an open hoodie with the same spell. All equipped with a slight notice-me-not or perception filter to avoid attention. It wouldn’t do to seem inappropriately dressed for whatever place they stumbled into.

 

The Doctor muttered that she had ‘psychic clothes’, ones that make people see what they expect to see. She had offered to charm his too. He just said that the TARDIS already did it for him and would do it for her too. Thought it wasn’t that powerful and wouldn’t stand closer inspection.

 

She still preferred her own way but if the TARDIS gave extra protection against sharp minds she was grateful.

 

The Doctor was grinning.

 

“I set her to random!”

 

Harry felt her brow twitch. Random was… _random_ and thus the Doctor's absolute favorite. They used it when he didn't have a mad idea and Harry couldn't come up with one. Last time they had ended up at the _bottom_ of a swamp with what amounted to deadly giant mosquitoes. It had been scary, fun, and absolutely horrendous. She had been smelling like dirty socks for three days after.

 

Well, random was also fun and exciting. So she couldn't really complain.

 

Her mouth quirked into a smile as she sighed theatrically.

 

“Oh great. Try to avoid smelly or crazy places, please”

 

“You know I can't. It's _random_ ”

 

And he stated the TARDIS up, flinging them out of the Vortex. Harry cheered and cast _Tempus_ , which she could do wandlessly now 'cause _time travel_ and it was useful. It was always mesmerizing to watch the glowing smoke of gold twist and turn, bringing up unimaginable shapes and _beauty_. With a bit of mathematical trial and error, shift in intent, and the Doctor's brilliant mind they had managed to reverse engineer it to show the date and year too. In Earth years of course.

 

Experiments were so very _fun_ to do with the Doctor. She knew he enjoyed it too.

 

They came to a stop with a lurch and she tightened her grip on the railing to keep standing. The TARDIS was getting better. There wasn't nearly as much shaking as there had been when she had first met the Doctor. The song in her mind was happier too. Sometimes she wondered if the beautiful ship had come to the red desert planet on purpose to get her to travel with them. She wouldn't put it past her.

 

Harry and the Doctor traded an excited glance before each grabbing a door and flinging them open. What greeted them was _cold_ . And an absolutely _breathtaking_ view. It was a star. Not particularly bright but not really dim either. Harry slammed her eyes shut in fear of damaging them, even if they would heal eventually. Like any other injury she sustained.

 

If it didn’t they still went away the next time she died.

 

“Harry, it’s okay. The TARDIS protects us. Look!”, the Doctor assured her and she cautiously opened her eyes again.

 

It was truly breathtaking. Even if she was trembling from the cold. The star shone with what seemed like a thousand different colors. Clouds of… something shiny and glittering was shooting out of it in waves, slowly making their way through space. Her sense of perception was thrown as she gazed out on it, open-mouthed. Swirls of shining rainbow colors. Light vibrating in a way that left her mesmerized and breathless.

 

“It’s…”, she couldn’t get the words out. There _weren’t_ words that could describe this accurately. Just… _beautiful_.

 

The Doctor didn’t say anything, he just stared out at the star before turning to Harriet. Her awe was plain on her face, emerald eyes and the lenses of her glasses shimmering with colors shining from the star. Shoulders relaxed, jaw slightly slack, hands clasped together in front of her heart. Her messy raven-hair also reflected the kaleidoscope of glimmering lights in front of them. She was beautiful, he noted.

 

And… trembling?

 

His eyes widened slightly as he noticed that it was _cold_ , way colder than a human should be subjected to without protection. _He_ was feeling it and Time Lords were naturally of a slightly lower temperature.

 

He quickly pushed the doors shut and pulled his friend away, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to get the warmth back. Harriet let out a chuckle. It had a slightly awed tone as she still reeled from the sight she had seen.

 

“That was just… Thank you, Doctor. For taking me with you”, she said, slightly breathless and still shaking.

 

He paused, momentarily surprised, before taking her hands and rubbing them to get the blood flowing properly.

 

“You’re welcome…”, he cleared his throat a little in slight embarrassment, “You could’ve said you were freezing. _Literally!_ ”

 

“Freezing? …Oh”

 

The Doctor didn’t know whether to laugh or stare incredulously. He settled on being thoroughly exasperated. Usually she was so observant but now… Harry _still_ managed to surprise him sometimes… That must be some sort of record. How many times had he been surprised within a year before? By the same person no less?

 

“...Why was it so cold? I mean, we’ve opened the doors to space before and it was just slightly chilly. And aren’t stars supposed to be _hot_ up close?”

 

And always asking the right questions.

 

“Because we’ve stumbled across an _ice_ star. Fascinating. I’ve only read about those. No one said they were so beautiful”

 

Her eyes went wide. It reminded him of an owl. Must be her glasses making them seem bigger.

 

“Ice star? How does that even _work_?”

 

The Doctor stopped rubbing her hands and went to the TARDIS console, adjusting some buttons and then guiding Harry to the jump seat. It suddenly heated up slightly and the girl sighed in relief, warmth spreading pleasantly to her body.

 

“Think of it like a glowstick. It produces light _without_ heat. This one has a bigger reaction, and more reactions, and thus it’s brighter. Now, space is like a freezer. One at minus 270 degrees Celsius. And _lots_ of gasses get liquified and freeze and light dims”, he dug around the console and pulled out a _blanket_ that he draped over Harriet, “That means it glows less but longer and since reactions are happening all over the star with crystallized structures moving about? Kaleidoscope of light and an effect of the glow shifting places”

 

He paused and thought for a minute.

 

“As for why it was so cold _inside_ the TARDIS when space temperature is almost at the limit of possible coldness and she can easily withstand that… Must have been very, very small ice crystals flowing in. That star emits them in _waves_ ”

 

Harry gave a happy hum, “You’re good at this lecturing thing”

 

The Doctor grinned down at her and ruffled her already much warmer hair that was the slightest bit damp, proving his theory. There definitely had been small ice crystals coming in. Now he only had to determine if the liquid was dangerous or not. Though he was pretty sure it wasn't.

 

Scanners showed that nope, it was just a normal liquid amongst these parts. Nothing dangerous. Though…

 

He stiffened, reading further, then started pressing buttons to get a clear picture of something floating towards the star.

 

Harry gasped. It looked like a metal disc with a _countdown_. The TARDIS translated it into minutes and seconds. 14 minutes and 28 seconds.

 

“It’s a bomb. A _timed_ bomb. If that star is destroyed all the planets orbiting it will definitely shatter”, the Doctor muttered, thinking furiously, “It’s not supposed to be here. The war is going on about a hundred _light years_ away”

 

The witch was up in an instant, clutching the blanket and brows furrowed in worry and concentration.

 

“Can you defuse it?”, she asked.

 

“Yes, but I’d have to get closer. The TARDIS can’t really lock on to it. Time and space suddenly shifting around it will definitely set it off. It’s _timed_ ”

 

“Okay… Would bringing it closer do the same?”

 

“No, we’re here and part of events. But how would-?”

 

“Will magic set it off? Or sharp movements?”

 

“I- It shouldn’t. You can bring it here?”, the Doctor looked to his friend with a furrowed brow.

 

She nodded, “Just by opening the doors”

 

He stared at her for a second before pushing a lever up and a button down.

 

“There. Now the ice can’t get in”, he stated before they both went to the doors.

 

He flung them open as Harry readied her Holly wand, imagining the bomb clearly and then cast the spell. It was an object that she had never seen before and was very far away. This would be tricky, so incantation it was.

 

“ _Accio!_ ”, she shouted and let her magic shoot forward.

 

At first it looked like nothing happened. Then, about thirty seconds later, they saw the disc hurtling towards them. In a minute the bomb was almost there. It took two minutes for it to come to a stop right in front of them outside the TARDIS’ doors. The timer said 11 minutes.

 

“Quick! I need tools…”, the Doctor took the explosive gingerly and placed it on the ground before rushing off towards a corridor.

 

Harry went with him and they crashed into a room with _lots_ of stuff. It was messy. Far from organized. They would never find the things in time.

 

“Harry, can you summon them?”

 

She shook her head sharply, “I have to visualize the object for it to work and I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re looking for”

 

The Doctor frowned. There really wasn’t enough time to search for stuff. Even less to defuse it with what they would find. Hard pressed for time. This was a tricky situation. Maybe if… But Harry didn’t know what it looked like. Well, he’d just have to tell her.

 

“I need an implosion”, he muttered before taking Harriet by her shoulders and describing the machine, “It’s about the size of my forearm, silver, shaped like a banana-”

 

“Not helping. I have to _see_ it first!”, Harry exclaimed before she turned thoughtful, “You’re telepathic, aren’t you? Can’t you… I dunno, plant the image in my mind?”

 

He stared at her for a full second before whispering, “...You’d trust me in your mind?”

 

She seemed to pause to think about it before nodding slowly, “I would. Do it!”

 

With the time limit he didn’t stop to argue or think about the implications. Harry had _told_ him about Voldemort and the mental violations she had endured as a teen. He reached for her temple, both closing their eyes as he carefully touched the surface of her lowering shields. Both gasped as something… _snapped_ into place. A bond of some sort. They didn’t really have time to examine it.

 

She felt… warm. And golden. Like a glow of gold that encompassed all of her. She cared. She _really_ cared about him. Her mind unconsciously reached for his and caressed, brushing a strand of sadness and loneliness away.

 

It had been such a long time since he felt _anything_. The empty place at the back of his mind once again filled for a moment, if just a little. He didn’t want it to go away.

 

Still he concentrated and sent the image of what he wanted to Harriet. She gently withdrew with a grateful nod and opened her eyes to watch his. Smiling slightly she reached up and took his hand in silent support. Then she turned towards the room, wand already in hand and waving. This time she didn’t even need the incantation. The machine he needed stopped right in front of him and he grinned. That was very useful.

 

Then they ran back to the bomb, the Doctor immediately getting to work. There were only four minutes left.

 

“That will work, right?”, Harry asked worriedly.

 

“Yeah. It’ll create an implosion exactly the size of this explosion the moment the count is zero. I’ll leave it outside the TARDIS just to be sure”, he explained as he set the timer of the device exactly like the countdown.

 

He could feel Harry’s mind even now. That was strange and new. Like both were just a single step away from being connected, from forming a bond that was _permanent_ . Almost how he had always felt the other Time Lords, as just a mass of silent voices at the back of his mind. Though this felt… safer. Like _nothing_ would be able to break it.

 

He was afraid of the part of him that _wanted_ that connection. That craved to feel something instead of this mass of… _loneliness_ . This empty space-like vacuum that screamed its need to have _someone_ there.

 

Ignoring that for now he took the bomb gingerly before setting it outside and closing the TARDIS’ doors. They waited tensely and watched through the screen at the console. A minute. Thirty seconds. Ten. Five. Harry grabbed the Doctor’s hand. Three. Two.

 

One.

 

There was a flash of light, a slight shaking, and then silent. The bomb and the machine were gone. Harry let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Then a wide smile spread across her lips and she launched herself at her friend.

 

“You did it!”, she laughed in relief, “You saved the star!”

 

He hugged her and spun around once, ecstatic at her happiness. Then he set her down and looked into her eyes seriously. He could feel the itching of a bond trying to connect at the back of his head. It would go away in a few hours if they didn’t do something about it. She was looking up at him with a small and slightly sad and wistful smile.

 

“I wouldn’t mind”, she said, startling him, “I wouldn’t mind being connected to you”

 

The Doctor was frozen in place, thinking furiously at what this might mean. He didn’t want to be alone. But his mind was a dark place. She wouldn’t know what she was talking about. And this felt… _permanent_. If she noticed she didn’t like it she would still be connected to him and-

 

A clap stopped his train of thought.

 

“Hey! Stop worrying”, her smile was still in place, “I told you that I was connected to my family. Flame bonds. That’s what’s happening here now. My Sky Flames reaching out to form another bond. But because this world has no Flames it concentrated on the telepathic link”

 

He was still staring frozenly at her, worry, fear, and a small spark of hope warring in his eyes. She let out a silent sigh.

 

“Reborn was the World's Greatest _Hitman_ . Verde was a slightly amoral scientist. Colonello and Lal were soldiers. Fon worked as an assassin for the Triads, only somewhat against his will. I was a child soldier that got thrown into the Mafia where the strong slay the weak. We all did bad stuff and had to make hard choices because that was the world we lived in. Tsuna and I worked on changing it but that meant playing by the rules, at least a little. Do you think anything you have in your mind will scare me away? You're _family_ , and family sticks together”, she stopped her tirade to see if it had sunk in. He was still hesitant and wary. They stayed like that for a long moment.

 

“Whatever you choose, I will support it”, she said at last, “I won't force you either way”

 

She gave him a reassuring smile before going to the doors and opening them to the ice star. She sat at the entrance, feet dangling into space. It was a truly beautiful view. A soft smile spread on her lips when just a minute later the Doctor joined her, dropping the blanket on her shoulders.

 

There was no need to talk about the possible bond. They both knew the Doctor needed to think it over. Probably many times. He might never ask or initiate it. She was okay with that. It would be his choice in the end. She had already decided. Harry would wait and if she had anything to say about it, she would stay with him as long as he lived. With or without the bond.

 

Right now they were content to watch the mesmerizing sight in front of them.

 

Together.

 

xXXx


	7. Memories, Meetings, and Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And inventing and stuff.

 

Complete and utter chaos. 

 

That’s what this was and no one could convince him otherwise. 

 

The Doctor watched what was supposed to be a meal with the Vongola Boss and his… Elements. Or Guardians. And Advisors with some other guests. A silver-haired teen was glaring at a grinning swordsman who didn’t seem to notice. Or then he just ignored it. There were two kids and a teen chasing each other around the table with  _ weapons _ and fighting each other. Thought the one with the cow outfit was full of bravado and laughing maniacally. 

 

Tsunayoshi, the Boss that couldn’t be older than twenty-two, had a fond and annoyed smile on his face as he ate. While dodging attempts to shove urgent paperwork at him about  _ repairs to  _ walls and ceilings _ because of battles _ as well as strange contracts for criminal activity. Or undermining other famiglias. Someone ate  _ on _ the table, easily dodging  _ pink hand grenades _ and food that sometimes flew over his head or at him. There was a girl with a trident and an eyepatch who wove something like illusions at a boy who looked eerily like her and countered them with his own. Both had  _ dark blue _ hair. All  _ natural _ . 

 

A white-haired young man with  _ white _ hair had bandages all over his arms as he cheerfully shouted ‘Extreme!’ at a man in the corner with tonfas. He was glaring around while eating steak from a plate, a yellow bird in his hair. There was a woman with  _ pink _ hair who had something he hesitated to call food on her plate. It looked utterly poisonous. People were making sure she didn’t slip anything into  _ their _ food or drink. 

 

Harriet and her Sun, Reborn, were sitting next to each other and ignoring the chaos around them with an ease that said they  _ reveled _ in it. At least the hitman seemed to. Harry just looked like this was her normal. 

 

Then the kid with the afro-like hair started crying and pulled a  _ bazooka _ out of it. To his mild horror, he aimed it at  _ himself _ . Even though Harry had tried to explain the weapon it was entirely different to  _ see _ it. That was why they were watching this memory, actually. So he could see what the bazooka did in person. He shot. There was pink smoke and a  _ ten years older _ kid, a teen, was standing in his place. He looked bored and had much less wild hair. There was a plate in his hands and a fork in his mouth. 

 

“Not again”, a sigh, “Could you keep my younger self from using the bazooka while I’m eating?”, he said in a bored tone, swallowing whatever he ate. 

 

No one batted an eye. Some people greeted him. Others ignored him. A girl gave him ice cream. Tsuna apologized and promised to try not to let the teen's younger self mess around. No one seemed to pay attention to the fact that a kid summoned his older self from the closest parallel timeline possible with a  _ bazooka _ of all things. Like snapping fingers. 

 

Complete and utter chaos. No wonder Harry hadn’t been fazed when she got summoned to his universe. 

 

“So. That’s the Ten-Year Bazooka”, the older Harriet by his side that looked  _ exactly _ the same as the girl in the room said as the memory ended. They just wore different clothing. 

 

He just shook his head, slightly disbelieving of what he had just seen. 

 

Ridiculous. That world’s Mafia (yes, it deserved the capital letter ‘cause nothing in  _ his _ universe was even  _ similar _ ) was utterly ridiculous. 

 

xXXx

 

Harry was sitting in the library, nursing her tea, when the Doctor stumbled in with his sonic screwdriver. 

 

“I did it!”, he exclaimed, holding it up. 

 

This was emphasized by the manic smile and slightly charred and ripped but replaceable, or fixable, shirt. The immortal girl turned her head in mild curiosity. She was unable to muster a more appropriate reaction with her melancholy thoughts. 

 

“Did what?”, her tone held slight interest but not the enthusiasm it usually did. 

 

The Doctor blinked out of his success to look her over and frowned at what he saw. Still, he continued in hopes of cheering Harry up even slightly. 

 

“Added another option to my screwdriver!”, he explained, “It was tricky to introduce your Flame infused magic as an alternative power source but I managed” 

 

She sat up straighter, a dim version of her usual excitement sparking in her eyes as she gave him a small smile. 

 

“Do tell!” 

 

He grinned, “I'll do one better!” 

 

And then he pointed it at a wall. Something looking suspiciously like a sonic blue spell shot out of it and opened an oval shape. Harry's eyes went wide as she realized what he'd done. He did the same trick to another wall and opened a path between two blue ovals, though the new one was a lighter shade. 

 

Harry jumped up, quickly waving a hand to make her tea land somewhere safe, and rushed to the closer oval. She inspected it with awed eyes before stepping through and coming out of the other. Her eyes snapped to the Doctor who was standing there smugly, arms crossed. 

 

She grinned at him, “You're a  _ genius! _ How did you make it work? What's the math? I  _ know _ it's super complex or I'd have done this ages ago!” 

 

He preened under the praise and congratulated himself for the great distraction. The Time Lord then launched into a lecture that explained the finer aspects of his tunings. As well as a small brush on the fifth dimension, which went right over Harry’s head. After that they got caught in yet another debate of the differences and similarities between magic and technology. Mostly in how to make them work together since the former needed  _ willpower _ and imagination to work and the other used energy sources. 

 

Then Harriet’s newest comment petered off and she lapsed into another melancholy silence. The Doctor sighed. 

 

“What’s bothering you?”, he asked casually, shifting his position on the comfy couch. 

 

She started out of her musings and turned to him. Her emerald eyes were back in the moment and he felt slight relief. Harry thought back on her mood and almost instantly knew the answer. Her mouth twisted in a slight grimace. 

 

“I… I miss noise. Well, not  _ noise _ exactly. More like people” 

 

The Doctor listened and remembered what her home universe was like. Especially the Mafia. It made sense. She was used to many people creating chaos all around. He made a thoughtful noise. 

 

“I think I can help with that…”, he mused, “Though it won’t be the same” 

 

Her interest was piqued and she practically glued her gaze to him. The Doctor gave her a smile. 

 

“How does the New Year’s festival in the year 2000’s London sound?” 

 

If her brightening expression was any indication it was a good idea. 

 

xXXx

 

It was. A good idea, that is. 

 

Harry was like a little kid in a candy store as she took everything in, moving through the crowds with the ease of familiarity. There was a firework show, stalls all over the Hyde Park and roads, a stage with constant music performances, lots and lots of people and noise, and games. She wanted to be  _ everywhere _ . The more chaotic the better. 

 

Thus the Doctor found himself dragged along to different game stalls, playing games, talking to random people, and taste testing things. It was fun. But he found that watching Harriet with that much energy was better. Much better than the brooding version in the TARDIS. 

 

Of course, that energy also meant it was easier to get separated. 

 

Which happened. What else did they expect? They were  _ trouble magnets _ . And they hadn’t had trouble in the last three weeks or so. The longest they remembered going without (before they met, that is) was around five to seven months. So it was a high time things went at  _ least _ a little bit wrong. 

 

It took about fifteen minutes for Harry to realize she was alone. She felt a bit annoyed but not worried. They’d been separated in much more dangerous places. Her hand unconsciously wrapped around her stomach. Shredders. She had died twice within a year. That was a first. She hoped not to make it a habit. 

 

Shaking her head to take her mind off such morbid thoughts she let her keen eyes wander around. They drank in all the people, the young and old. Everyone was so very  _ happy _ and  _ content _ . She smiled. It was infectious. Maybe that was why she loved festivals and parties so much. Though she liked being the spectator too. 

 

Harry wrapped her coat tighter around herself, casting a silent warming charm, and started moving around once more. She’d find the Doctor in a bit. Now she wanted to enjoy this. 

 

Another thing caught her eye. 

 

She frowned and started walking closer. A blonde girl was inching away from a taller guy. He was maybe seventeen, leaning over the younger teen almost threateningly. 

 

“C’ mon, girlie! You can hang out with me and my mates. It wouldn’t do for a young beauty like you to be alone” 

 

The blonde was frowning heavily, brown eyes darting around for an escape. 

 

“No thanks. I’m good” 

 

“Aww, don’t be like that. I could show you something amazing” 

 

And then Harry was by her side, smiling sweetly at the man. 

 

“She said no”, the woman told him plainly, “It means she’s not interested” 

 

Now the boy’s attention turned to the girl that looked around his age. The charming smile was back. 

 

“And would  _ you _ be interested, gorgeous?” 

 

She raised an eyebrow, “No. Please just go back to your friends” 

 

He looked like he wanted to try again. Harry’s eyes turned cold and promised pain if the guy didn’t back down. The teen clearly wavered under such a heavy gaze. 

 

“Go”, she commanded and this time she was obeyed, if grudgingly and with fake bravado. 

 

The immortal tracked him for a while, casting a silent curse at him after discreetly drawing her Holly wand to prevent him from pursuing any other women with ill intent. A crafty spell she’d invented after the guys in the Mafia got a little too persistent. It was unfortunate it only lasted a month or so and would wear away faster the farther away she got. 

 

“Thanks. He just wouldn’t leave”, a voice behind her reminded Harry of the girl she’d helped. 

 

She turned to the blonde with a bright smile, “No problem! If you bump into any other guys like that just run or scream. The more hands-on ones can probably take a kick or two” 

 

That startled out a laugh from the girl who gave her a cute tongue-in-teeth grin. 

 

“I’ll keep that in mind. My name’s Rose”

 

They started walking back into the crowd even as the raven-haired girl shook Rose’s hand. 

 

“I’m Harriet. Call me Harry. Are you here alone?” 

 

Apparently, Rose was at the festival with her best friend Shareen. They had gotten separated in the crowd around the stage and she had been trying to track her down since. Neither owned a cell phone so it was hard. Harry told the shorter girl she was looking for a tall man with a leather jacket and biggish ears. As it turned out both were looking for their friends they decided to stick together to look for them. 

 

Rose was young and witty. She was also compassionate but wasn’t that interested in school. An estate girl. Harry was only a little bit aware of what that meant but got that her family wasn’t that rich. In turn, the immortal told her she was a traveler. And a researcher, kind of. 

 

“But- How old are you?”, Rose had asked, frowning. 

 

Harry told her the most believable thing, “I’m nineteen. Graduated young. You?” 

 

“Fourteen. You must be very smart” 

 

“Nah”, Harry laughed, “I was average in almost everything but sports. Aced that one. Nowadays I’m a much more dedicated learner” 

 

Rose grinned, “I’m good at gymnastics” 

 

She looked the blonde over and noted that she did have pretty lean muscles. If her sense of balance was as good as it seemed to be she’d really be very good at it if she worked hard. 

 

“Keep that up. You never know when you’ll need the skills”, Harry told her seriously. 

 

Then she spotted something green, brown, and curly. Someone also looking for someone if the looking around and asking people was any indication. The immortal nudged the young girl beside her. 

 

“Is that your friend?” 

 

Rose looked to the pointed direction and her expression lighted up, “Shareen!” 

 

Harry watched contently as the two embraced. She had missed the lightheartedness that came with innocence and youth. Mafia didn’t have that. At least not in the same sense as civilians. Well, until Tsuna came along that is. She missed her student, though he had already grown up. Almost as much as she missed her teaching partner. 

 

“Harry!”, came a call from behind her. She turned to smile at the Doctor who was mock-scowling at her, “When will you apes actually listen? Don’t wander off! I had to use the sonic to get your general location. And that’s only thanks to our tinkering!” 

 

“Well, I wasn’t kidnapped or anything. And even if I was I’m pretty sure I could get out”, she commented with laughter in her voice, “Besides, you’re the one with all the equipment” 

 

“Says the girl who makes impossible a daily occurrence”, he grumbled. 

 

“Is he your friend?”, asked Rose’s voice next to Harry, making both start and look to her and Shareen. 

 

The witch nodded with a smile, “Rose, this is the Doctor. Doctor, Rose and Shareen” 

 

After the default confusion over how ‘Doctor’ could be a name the two fourteen-year-olds decided to show the two travelers all the best places in return for ‘cool stories’. The Doctor was about to say no but one look at Harry’s happy and content expression stayed his tongue. It was a fun day. Harry told the two girls edited versions of their travels, mixing in her experiences in the Mafia of her world. She had a  _ lot _ to tell about Italy and it’s little adventures. Japan was the next, then the sea. If she slipped little life lessons into the tidbits of her stories, well. That was her business. And maybe the Doctor’s. 

 

It was a fun day. Rose especially seemed to drink up the stories and gained a new fire in her eyes. Harry wondered what she would do with it. The Doctor and Harry walked the girls back to their home district before heading back to the TARDIS. 

 

Harry was still smiling. 

 

“Well?”, the Doctor asked, “Better?” 

 

The witch nodded, “Much. It reminded me that I love teaching” 

 

He smiled, “You’re good at it”, the smile then turned into a grin, “So! Ready for the next adventure?” 

 

She laughed. 

 

“Of course!” 

 

xXXx


	8. Mental Arts Against the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Technicalities between realities, black hole stuff, and facing the devil. Just the usual.

 

Harriet didn't know if she hated or loved the 'random’ option. 

 

If she said loved it would mean she enjoyed the uncomfortable or downright hostile places they landed on. Sure,  _ sometimes _ it was fun. It's just… did it have to be that  _ all _ the time? They stumbled across trouble thirty percent of the time either way. Then again, if she  _ hated _ it… that would mean she didn't like helping the people they came across. Which just wasn't true. 

 

In the end it was a weird love/hate relationship. 

 

Right now she kind of hated it. Because  _ of course _ the TARDIS would land them on a planet with no atmosphere and inside a sanctuary base that has  _ no contact _ with other people. Oh, and there was a black hole sucking things in up there. 

 

And wasn’t that strange? In her world black holes didn’t  _ suck things in _ . If the sun suddenly turned into a black hole Earth would’ve still orbited it normally. Things just would’ve been, well, freezing. She’d heard enough science talk about astronomy from Verde, Hayato, Shoichi and Spanner to know that. 

 

It was kind of amusing to watch the Doctor splutter at  _ that _ tidbit of her world after she voiced her confusion. 

 

The reason she was despairing the use of random though was because there had been ancient and powerful runes found on the planet. And now Toby, the group’s archeologist, was shaking on the floor and struggling against an ancient being trying to possess him. From where, she had no idea. She just knew she’d have to stop it. Preferably with the Doctor. He had stronger mental shields and was way better at anything doing with telepathy. 

 

He was next to her, screwdriver out and scanning the state of the archeologist. 

 

“Doctor? I’m going to try and force it out”, she said carefully. 

 

The Doctor’s expression was unreadable as he looked at his scans. He took a deep breath and nodded jerkily. 

 

“Be careful, Harry”, he ordered, “This one… It’s powerful. I’ll pull you out if it gets too much” 

 

A ghost of a smile flickered on her lips as she nodded before looking straight into Toby’s eyes that were switching madly between their normal color and red. The Doctor trusted her in this. It felt good after being… somewhat coddled after dying in front of him. Not that she could really blame the Time Lord. 

 

“ _ Legilimens! _ ” 

 

She blinked as she found herself inside a destroyed landscape. Dark swirls of pure malice and hatred curled their way inwards and wove their way inside nooks and corners, tearing at it. The mind was in sheer  _ agony _ . But still  _ fighting _ . Futilely. She narrowed her eyes and pulled her shields tighter over herself. She’d been noticed. The beast’s presence was now circling her like a cat that found food and was considering playing with it. 

 

Harriet’s eyes narrowed further, mental defences up and shielding her tightly. They were ready to lash out at the beast…  

 

She found herself in the precarious position of being played with like cat food. Her attacks and magic only just protected her from the immense presence that reminded her of the TARDIS and the Doctor but much,  _ much _ more malicious and evil. The  _ avatar _ of maliciousness and evil actually. Only her bonds that surged to her protection saved her from being decimated, not that it would’ve been possible for forever. She’d just have to come back. Again. But that would mean Toby died. Mind reaching out to the Doctor she placed her most ingenious and tricky protections (rune barriers and Mist Flames and Flame barriers and magic) around a piece of Toby she’d been fighting with and shielding and felt her friend pull her out of danger. 

 

The immortal snapped into her body, releasing a low growl of anger and slight helplessness. She wasn’t strong enough to do this. The  _ Doctor _ wouldn’t be strong enough for… whatever  _ that _ was. But there had to be a way to go through. A way to- 

 

Oh. Of course. There  _ was _ a way. 

 

Harry’s eyes turned to the Doctor and she saw the same understanding and  _ panic _ in his eyes. She didn’t panic. She was just accepting, like true Skies were for their Elements. Her lips stretched into a smile. 

 

“I accept you, Doctor. Okay?”, she told him clearly with no room for misunderstandings, Sky Flames and magic backing her words, “Family  _ sticks together _ ” 

 

He grit his teeth, fear and longing and the desire to save a life warring between him before he reached out and placed his hands on her temples. The witch closed her eyes, mental shields lowering for him and Flames surging up towards the link they were creating. It was both same and different from her other bonds that were thrumming in the forefront of her mind, accepting this new one and helping it settle. 

 

Warmth washed through them, Harry smoothing out the desperation and apprehension flowing through her friend and embracing the lonely parts. All encompassing Sky. She felt his mind, a little aloof and at the same time clinging. A desire to have control over every situation and at the same time not. Contradictions and conflicting ideals, ideas, and it was so  _ wide _ and churning at all times. 

 

A bone deep old  _ rage _ that roiled and a fury that could scorch galaxies. Caring and compassion surpassing human emotion and feelings that were fleeting, others that stayed for a long while, some permanent and at his core. Wariness. Weariness. Closed off, afraid to get close. Open in ways he thought he could afford but then couldn’t and yet did. Things that made sense, others that didn’t at all, childish curiosity, wonder, wildness, caginess, pride, overwhelming  _ guilt _ and yet to be snuffed hope. Old and youth, young and ancient. Layers upon layers upon layers upon  _ layers _ . Completely alien. Yet not enough to  _ not _ feel humane. 

 

She accepted it all. 

 

He… He accepted her. 

 

With trepidation, weariness, and _longing_ so great you could drown in it. He searched her, looking if he could trust her with himself. She let him strip her bare. He looked at the parts of her she wasn’t so proud of, the parts of her she didn’t like existed, the _core_ of her that she was glad _did_ exist and… accepted. Some he didn’t like, just as some she didn’t, but he accepted it. Her core, her very _self_ , he accepted with open arms and an open mind after finding _how much she cared_. She knew her very _being_ cared. So much it hurt sometimes. Saving people thing indeed. Just like he had. 

 

Harry hadn’t noticed when her eyes had opened, a blazing orange hue in her irises. The Doctor was staring at her with open wonder, just like she him. 

 

The link was much more… intense than her original bonds. Those bonds that were twining around their newest family member. They conveyed just emotion and feelings, sometimes brief thoughts at their most. Synchronization in battle. This had been a brief connecting of  _ themselves _ , their minds as one. Not quite anything either had ever had before. Yet it felt just the same for Harriet and new for the Doctor. 

 

Like coming home. 

 

She smiled, hand reaching up to touch his and he brushed some of her messy curls away with the other. Her mind dug up a memory, _the_ memory of all the times her and her Elements fought together. Synchronization. His sharp and terrifyingly efficient mind digested it in a millisecond, other parts configuring up plans, countermeasures, moves of the enemy at the same speed, as well as the emotional side of things, and Harry finally _understood_ how utterly _brilliant_ and _alien_ he was. 

 

His brain worked different aspects, plans, thoughts, emotions, movements, irrelevant stuff, and minor things  _ at the same time _ which  _ had _ to be the pinnacle of multitasking. Not that she could make sense of it, just get the general feeling of what was going on. She felt that there was much more to it then that too. 

 

Right now they were separate, yet together as one. It was a confusing feeling to both, more so to the Doctor who hadn’t had Flame bonds at all. No bonds of his had been quite like  _ this _ , not even the one with the TARDIS. 

 

It was exactly what Harry had said. Family. It felt like family. 

 

They turned to Toby’s writhing form as one and forced their way back in. The TARDIS’ song was muted as she was far away but they were all here. Three beings working together to protect the man who had accidentally meddled in forces he had no hope of winning against. Not alone. They had to commend him for his stubbornness though. The defences Harry had left were still there, if barely. The mind however… It was a wasteland. It would have to be fixed up a little until it started healing, if it _could_ be healed. 

 

The beast turned on them, a massive presence that could cow almost everything. They weren’t almost everything. 

 

Hissed promises, threats, overwhelming  _ malice _ . It was nothing to them. Nothing to the new bond they all shared. The beast was baited and thrown out, it’s sturdy roots and footholds mercilessly removed from the fragile human mind that was opposite of Harriet’s fortified strength of will. 

 

Only thing worth worrying over was that the beast felt weak. Not at full power. Like something was holding it  _ back _ and that prison was close to  _ snapping _ . The beast felt  _ infuriated _ with them and swore revenge. 

 

They started healing the worst damage with Harry following the Doctor’s lead and put runic defences and shields all around. It became a protective bubble. 

 

Toby would be okay now, if shaky and probably suffering from some memory loss. 

 

Harry and the Doctor withdrew and let the synchronization slowly dissipate, leaving them blinking as the bond fell into a… not really  _ background noise _ , it was much too strong for that, but away from the center of their being. It was left pulsing and stable and  _ liberating _ in the front of their minds but not the  _ forefront _ . 

 

They stared at each other in awe, and in the Doctor’s case a little uncertainty and more than a little relief. Harry was just amazed and happy. Very, very happy. 

 

“Whoa…!”, she whispered breathlessly, “It’s never been that intense and we never knew  _ that _ much about the other. Telepathy is  _ amazing _ . You’re amazing!” 

 

“It was a partial mind-meld”, the Doctor explained, flabbergasted, “But with  _ emotions _ , not full on  _ minds _ . I- I can  _ still _ feel what you feel!” 

 

Harry laughed, “That’s what a Flame bond usually does. Ours just feels  _ more _ because it’s based on a telepathic link” 

 

She could feel how the Doctor’s mind was whirling and churning, constantly moving and doing something. Like the universe. Vast and had so much more  _ space _ to process things than her own. It was only because she was immortal and had magic that she could withstand it. As it was she’d probably be paralyzed for at least three days if they had tried a true mind-meld. 

 

Luckily synchronization worked differently, concentrating more on shared instincts than thoughts. 

 

It was why the ex-Arcobaleno fighting together was such an effective and mildly (okay, no, it was  _ highly _ ) terrifying thing. Her other bonds flared in agreement, making her smile widen. 

 

Then she turned serious, “Doctor. A bond needs some time to settle. We won’t like being apart  _ at all _ for a week or so. Even then it will feel… odd” 

 

He frowned, examining that thought, and mentally  _ recoiled _ at the idea of not being in Harriet’s vicinity. Of course he  _ could _ do it but he would  _ hate _ every minute of it. His control over his own mind would assure that it wouldn’t show on the outside as other than mild constant irritation but… the feeling would be  _ maddening _ . 

 

Huh. Okay, no separating then. 

 

That… might be a problem when they had the beast to deal with. A thing that called itself the devil. Though maybe it wasn't a  _ big _ problem. Harry and him  _ did _ make an effective team. 

 

xXXx

 

Some time later they had the ood slaves rescued from mental attacks, an unbreakable self-oxygenating magic bubble that they took outside to get to the TARDIS who had for  _ some _ reason decided to drop into the center of the planet, Ida Scott at the bottom of the place with them, a ‘bottomless’ hole they jumped into because  _ of course _ their TARDIS would be there, a meeting with the beast that called himself the devil of every religion ever, and a legitimate reason to dump the whole planet into the black hole. 

 

Luckily the crew didn’t protest on that one. Having one of their own mind-raped was enough deterrent. Harry and the Doctor still made sure they got out of the black hole’s range before drifting off to the time vortex. They had a new bond to experiment with. 


	9. Ingredients Shopping For Volatile Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go shopping. Because Harry's running out of ingredients. Warning: Experiments Gone Awry! XD

 

Harry eyed the potions cabinet in trepidation. The clabbert pustules were gone. She’d used them in the last batch of peace draught. That… was a problem. Actually, the whole potions cabinet was the problem. She only had so many ingredients. And had no way to get most of them. That meant… research. 

 

Usually she didn’t mind. At all. Research was fun. 

 

But usually she didn’t have to research  _ potions _ . It was volatile at best. At worst, well… She didn’t even  _ want _ to know. The hazardous accidents with magic were harder to sort out without St. Mungo’s anywhere. And she’d have to do so  _ many _ experiments. With new ingredients no one had  _ ever _ tried before. 

 

The girl didn’t know how much help the Doctor would be with this since he  _ still _ had some trouble trying to understand the logic behind potions. She herself had never quite understood it either. Harry didn’t think  _ anyone _ did. She just knew that she had a knack for altering them if left on her own with a cauldron. 

 

Problem was, where could she  _ get _ ingredients? 

 

Wait. Time machine. Duh. 

 

“Doctor?”, she called out as she took out her old school trunk with magical compartments. Specifically for buying potions ingredients in her later years. 

 

The Time Lord was doing  _ something _ while hanging with ropes from the lab ceiling. She didn’t ask. Thought she  _ did _ raise an eyebrow. Politely, she didn’t interrupt even as she sensed he was concentrating hard. He only just acknowledged she was there with a flare of greeting. He’d just about learned to communicate with the new bond like she did. 

 

After about six minutes he let out a whoop, delight radiating from him as magical lights flashed into existence. Harry gasped and stared at the suddenly magical lighting. There were different colors and sizes floating around, looking exactly like localized  _ Lumos _ spells. Only they were generated without a wand from another energy cube they’d created. This one was  _ much _ smaller than the one at Ark Molube though. 

 

“Ha!”, the Doctor said triumphantly, “Watch” 

 

He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the ceiling and the lights rearranged and recolored themselves, making a vortex of light for a few seconds as the scenery changed into… stars. It was a map. Of a piece of space. In their workshop. That would come in  _ so _ useful for her when she tried to do arithmetic calculations and ritual works with dates they weren’t at yet. Doctor might be able to do that in his mind but she needed an actual reference. 

 

This was for  _ her _ . She smiled slowly, happiness pooling in her stomach. 

 

“Whoa. You never cease to amaze me, Doc” 

 

Her friend huffed at the nickname but grinned down at her brightly, “Amazing, that’s me. What did you want?” 

 

Harry snapped her trunk open with, well, a snap of her fingers. 

 

“I need new potions ingredients. But there’s no magical community”, she explained, knowing he didn’t need more explanation. 

 

Proving her right, he nodded thoughtfully. 

 

“I know  _ just _ the time,  _ and _ place” 

 

And that was all they needed to get ready for a new adventure. With shopping. Probably. Knowing the Doctor it included a trek in the wilderness. 

 

xXXx

 

Harry eyed the blue stones on display and weighed options and uses in her mind. She had a digital dictionary the Doctor had dug from somewhere which explained some object’s mythology and properties. This one sounded promising. She turned to the shop owner and bought a bag. It joined an assortment of things within the enlarged compartments in her trunk. 

 

This shopping district, if you could call it that, was chaotic and full of little trinkets and items that had significant properties that mimicked some of her own world’s. 

 

Oh how glad she was that Viper had convinced her knowing magical subjects better would be worth it. Especially potions. After Snape, she hadn’t been particularly enthused. But the more she’d read the more interesting it became until she found herself experimenting new ingredients and things. If she hadn’t she’d have had no idea what she was doing here. 

 

Some items were even useful looking for runes and wards. Like the little shells belonging to some space snails. The Doctor had tried to make her stop calling them that but after seeing a picture she just couldn’t. They were snails. In space. Clearly. They shouldn’t be named after  _ cats _ . 

 

Yeah,  _ that _ had been a funny argument. 

 

Happened a lot with them, it seems. Even if there was absolutely no heat behind them. If there was, they’d feel it. The feelings thing had solidified a lot faster than with the bonds between her and her Elements had. She was glad for it. Sometimes figuring the Doctor out without it was way too  _ hard _ . 

 

He was a  _ master _ at deflection, especially when in unfamiliar company. 

 

She’d been here almost two years, or so he told her one day. So she kinda knew him by now. As he knew her. Harry felt delighted at the thought. She reached to sense her last living family member and found him at a cafe-like thing looking at some powders. It looked interesting and maybe useful so she rushed over in time to see him buy some with a stick he’d cheated money into. Kinda. It was still real money. 

 

“May times treat you well”, said the bored looking shopkeeper with tentacles as hair. 

 

It was a local saying the Doctor happily replied to. 

 

“And you”, he said before shoving the bubble bags in her face, making Harry scramble to catch them without magic. 

 

She sent him a sour look which he ignored with a flash of amusement. The witch scowled harder. Which didn’t work. Because she herself was amused too. 

 

“So what’s this?”, she asked instead and pointed at a suspiciously emerald colored powder. The others she had a vague idea of. She had  _ not _ spent the years twiddling her thumbs and the TARDIS library was an information gold mine. 

 

“Marma”, he told her, “It tastes sweet or salty depending on the way you prepare it” 

 

Harry made an interested noise as her mind churned over applications. She could think of quite a few and some left her feeling giddy. Funny how she was now  _ itching _ to get started on the experimenting when a few hours ago she’d been wary and exhausted. 

 

“Hmm. You know, it’s been said that inventing new potions is one of the hardest and most time consuming paths there are. That it takes  _ years _ . And that  _ no potion _ can be made without even a single magical item”, she mused, lip twitching, “Want to prove them wrong?” 

 

If the sharp grin she got was anything to go by the Doctor was  _ eager _ to do so. 

 

The sooner they got to the TARDIS the better. So they concluded the shopping and headed towards their lab with the trunk and bubble bags full of new ingredients, minds churning with ideas. 

 

xXXx

 

Harry was blasted to a wall with bright pink flashing in her vision. She blinked rapidly to clear the distortion and noted blearily that bubblegum didn’t work well with ice shards. The girl narrowed her eyes at her crystal cauldron and its volatile and self-warring icy pink mixture. 

 

“Grr… Again!” 

 

xXXx

 

“This shouldn’t work”, the Doctor muttered with a scowl, “The only thing connecting dragon scales and what is essentially a  _ leaf _ is their shape and size and it’s not even that  _ precise! _ ” 

 

Harry just hummed absently, “I dunno, it made sense to me” 

 

“You said  _ made _ ” 

 

“Yeah, well, doesn’t mean I understand it. Just be glad it works” 

 

“This feels like a repeated conversation” 

 

The witch didn’t reply with anything other than amusement. He huffed but left it at that. She could still feel he was happy. 

 

xXXx

 

They stared. The pillowcase had had a pillow. Now, it did not. It was writhing on the floor with indignant mewls and meows coming out. Soon enough a vanilla white kitten with milky eyes poked its head out with a hiss. The cauldron was emitting cat-head shaped smoke. 

 

“Well. I understand what Mr. Flitwick was on about when he said someone accidentally conjured a bull on their chest”, Harry offered weakly. 

 

“I admit I was sceptical at first…”, the Doctor said slowly. 

 

“And now?” 

 

“And now…”, he gave a meaningful glance at the walls that had somehow turned tiger striped, “Now I think your stories may have been understated” 

 

xXXx

 

“It’s gone!” 

 

“Yeah, here. Let me-” 

 

“It’s  _ gone _ ” 

 

“ _ Doc! _ Stop it!” 

 

“My index finger is  _ gone! _ ” 

 

“I  _ know _ and I know how to  _ fix  _ it if you’d just-” 

 

“ _ Fascinating! _ ” 

 

“Ugh. I give up. Say when you want it back”

 

xXXx

 

Harriet hit another wall with a smack but this time a volatile potion hadn’t thrown her. She’d walked right into it. Because she couldn’t see anything the right way. Only sideways. It was  _ weird _ . 

 

“You said the door was here!”, she snapped, annoyed. 

 

“No, I said it was to the  _ right _ , not left!” 

 

“My right is to my left to right right now!” 

 

“That makes no sense!” 

 

“I know! Does magic ever make sense?” 

 

“Arithmancy” 

 

“Point. Where’s the door?”

 

The Doctor sighed and she felt dizzy as he spun her around to another direction and shoved her through a sideways doorway. It looked like it was twisting and that she’d smack into a wall again but no. She got into her room to get a cleaniser potion which they’d  _ somehow _ forgotten about before their bout of experimenting. A bad idea if any before potions testing. 

 

xXXx

 

It took hours. Upon hours. But they made two new potions and found a sorta replacement  _ and _ a works-almost-everytime replacement for clabbert pustules. And some other ones. They just needed to rework some stirring and adding orders. Or cutting patterns. One of the things the Doctor didn’t like since it only sometimes made even some sort of sense to him. Or to Harry for that matter. 

 

As for the two new potions… One of them was basically a liquid Tempus-spell that let the user see time as golden smoke or tendrils for a quarter per drop. The more drops you added the more time you got. Harry named it Time Sight. The Doctor didn’t protest overly much at the simplification. 

 

The other was basically a stabilizer agent. After one too many magical messes they tried to create a way to manage them easier than the oh so many Finite’s (a spell terminating spell or magic effects) and other cleaning charms. Many of which didn’t work at all. So they made the potion and while it  _ did _ counter many more destructive effects a drop of it in a cauldron at a start of a brewing also made a potion less liable to explode. Granted, the potions or ingredients that were  _ supposed _ to be sensitive to things made them either less effective or not work at all. 

 

Harry could imagine the uproar for their invention at the magical markets, as well as Snape’s face when he heard that an  _ alien _ had helped make it. 

 

Take  _ that _ magical community! 

 

xXXx

 


End file.
